The Vanishing Half

By: Brit Bennett

Narrated by: Shayna Small

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Sunday Times bestseller

Longlisted for the Women's Prize 2021

Longlisted for the Orwell Prize

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 sixteen, 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 )

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

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!

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.

Memorable characters that will stay you for a long time.

I couldn't stop listening to this book once I started. The author has created such a clear world with threads than span decades. This is a story of about choices, secrets, family and unconditional love. Shayna Small's performance is perfect, gentle and profound, I am now a huge fan.

Fascinating characters

There are echoes of Nella Larson’s Passing set several decades later. The multigenerational storyline worked well

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.

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.

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

Excellent Read

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