The Vanishing Half

By: Brit Bennett

Narrated by: Shayna Small

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sunday Times best seller.

Longlisted for the Women's Prize 2021.

Longlisted for the National Book Award.

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. 

Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires and expectations and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

©2020 Brit Bennett (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK

Critic Reviews

"A writer to watch." (Washington Post)

"The Vanishing Half is an utterly mesmerising novel. It seduces with its literary flair, surprises with its breath-taking plot twists, delights with its psychological insights, and challenges us to consider the corrupting consequences of racism on different communities and individual lives. I absolutely loved this book." (Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize 2019)

"Bennett allows her characters to follow their worst impulses, and she handles provocative issues with intelligence, empathy and dark humour." (New York Times )

Poignant

The statement that stood out for me..to be white is to be able to choose. Spoke to so many issues about privilege and how it differentiates us all. Sometimes we are searching even if we don’t know that we are..a restlessness can carry across generations..so much depth too about how the words around us; spoken and unspoken can impact our life journeys. I grew to love the book..so glad I read it!

The Lies We Tell Ourselves

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A beautiful book that looks at how we sell our souls in order to achieve what we consider dear. Having reached our goals however, we then look back and see what this has cost us. I would highly recommend this. It is food for reflection.

An all-around, lovely piece of art

An interesting fictional story of the lives of twins girls who grow up and decide to live two different lives. Some of the themes that come out in the book
Racism and how it felt to be black in the 1930s to 1980s in the US
Transgender lives and realities
The human urge to identify or be identified to a group
The different shades of love and marriage

Absolutely stunning

This book is beautifully written and completely captivating. It tells the story of twin black girls whose skin is very light. When they run away for a new start, one continues life as a black girl while the other is mistaken for a white girl and so the two live lives on separate sides of the colour divide in 60s America. When they themselves have daughters the difference in skin colour and lives widens further until their lives accidentally intersect. It’s about lies and secrets, but also love and new starts. It is stunningly beautiful.

Shayna Hall narrates this book brilliantly. She brings the characters and the times to life. Lovely voice to listen to

Loved it

I enjoyed the narrator very much. The story was great. I gasped a few times especially the encounters between the twins' daughters and between Jude and Stella.

a good tale, well read

a different story, creative and vast. a deeper message about life and progression embedded in tale that's interesting even on its own. narrator's voice felt a little grating at first but soon enough became easy to listen to.

Excellent Read

Captivating story and eloquently read by voice artist. Imagery easily painted in the reader’s mind

A superbly written and narrated novel.

The Vanishing Half is one of the most thought provoking novels I’ve listened to in a very long time. At this point in history I think it’s a must read/listen. It is a beautifully written story that left this reader deeply moved. It is at times heartbreaking, but it also leaves you hopeful given the strength and resilience of its characters. This story will stay with me always.
The narration was superb.
Highly recommended

An Important Read

Where to begin with this book? There are so many angles and themes that you could take this from... It has an intriguing opening - a bit like a 'what if' scenario - an unmarked town full of light skinned people who think of themselves as superior to other black people. Then a set of twins, who slip off into the night one summer, leaving no trace. Only for one twin to return as suddenly as she left, followed by a little dark skinned girl...

The multi-generational story really dives into the details of prejudice, systemic racism and most importantly, the often overlooked issue of colorism. It also looks at families, contains complex mother-daughter relationships and in a very understated way also looks at the effect of broken homes and the importance of the father.

The story is fictional but is plotted against important historic events in American history. This framing means that it is realistic, but with a slight displacement that stops it feeling as raw or uncomfortable as some may otherwise have found it. This is with the exception of one violent scene that really saddened me but even this (like most of the harsher scenes in the book) was softened around the edges by being recalled as a memory . It also makes unfamiliar topics completely accessible to anyone through quality story telling (there are two in particular that I have in mind, one is colorism but I don't want to spoil the second for anyone else).

Pacing wise, I found it occasionally a bit slow for my liking, especially towards the end, but there was great tension. If you are the type who likes explosive scenes then you will not find much joy here. The storyline doesn't really carry a shock factor in terms of twists and turns but it certainly takes you by the hand and really makes you think and reflect and savour the range of emotion it induces - it uses your own understandings about family to penetrate your depths.

This is a book that demands attention - I listened to this on Audible and there are several time jumps that are woven together masterfully - you cannot skim read or listen while half concentrated on something else. If your mind wanders for a second, you will find yourself lost. It is worth every drop of your attention though. The reader did a great job too. I usually have to have the ebook in front of me whilst I read or I lose focus but I found myself engaged even though I didn't get the ebook this time.

The ending was satisfying and unhurried too. It was realistic - not so neat and perfect that it felt silly but it still felt complete. I would highly recommend this book, whichever format you choose to read it in.

Great booked ruined by narrator

This is SUCH a good story, but the narration kills it I'm afraid.
I'm going to buy a physical copy to read and cleanse my brain of the irritation, because every time I think of the story or hear the author's name or the book title, I feel tense. The whole way through listening I felt tense. Couldn't fully relax end enjoy it.
This is an important book, as well as being a terrific story. It deserves much better.

Powerful story written with a tenderness.

I Chose this books on the reviews and it certainly lived up to it high star rating. The summary tells everything you need to know about the book, so I will not bore you with a repetition.

The story needs your complete attention as there is so many small details that are important and make the whole a sum if it’s parts. The exploration of black and white, mother daughter relationship, living in isolation, rich and poor, growing up in a fatherless house are beautiful and sensitively told but also in a no holds bare way too.

My only criticism of this book is the narrator. Personally I have never been a fan of American narrators and unfortunately Shyna Small just did not deliver this book in a way that I really could connect with it. It was almost that she was trying too hard. Personally I would suggest the exceptional voice of Bahni Turpin to narrate.

Despite the criticism as it’s a personal thing, I would highly recommend this book.

Beautifully written and brilliantly read

This is a stunning novel. The blurb details the premise but narrative is more sweeping and ambitious than it suggests: the author - and narrator - deftly switch characters and across timelines to explore big subjects (race, what makes us who we are, family ties and lost connections and gender). It’s especially prescient in the wake of BLM (but given the speed of the publishing industry must have been written long before the current movement to be out now). One of my favourite books on audio so far. Do listen - it’s a real ‘grower’ and I resoundingly recommend it.

Had potential but never achieved it

enjoyed the premise of this story very much and it held alot of promise, but unfortunately it did not deliver for me. the start was great, alot of background information and developing of the story, but then midway through for me it lost it's way and never came back. I found the jumping around in years to different characters storyline confusing and hard to follow and I think this spoiled the usual enjoyment of the build up to the end. when the end came it was too quick and left a lot of loose ends. I felt quite let down, it didn't really tie anything up and I think the rushed ending meant that some of the story felt unbelievable. It was a shame as I think the story had a lot of potential.

A powerful story

This was an excellent novel that explored some sensitive issues in an open way. All round excellent

Not one for me.

Struggled to finish this book. While the themes were familiar and narration was very good, despite not being able to tell the difference between characters at times, the pacing and the back and forth between sides of each story was just too much to keep my interest.

Compelling & enjoyable but didn’t know how to end

I really enjoyed listening to this story and kept wanting to keep going even when I had other things to do! But I felt surprised by the ending as it didn’t really end - it was like it just stopped. Maybe a snapshot of lives just does this, but I was slightly disappointed after what had been otherwise a great book.

very slow read but good overall story

I enjoyed the overall story but I did think the author dragged out the story at times. you could cut out a lot of the book and it would be the same story and be as good.

unable to follow the story

maybe better as a book.
but the audio book format for this book just doesn't work.