What a tour de force Bennett has achieved with The Vanishing Half. Brilliant and complex, this story surpassed all my expectations and more.
Twins Desiree and Stella couldn't wait to leave behind the small, black town they've grown up in. At sixteen, they finally seize their chance and run away. More than a decade later, the twins have lost touch with each other. One comes back to town with a black daughter, while the other lives across the country, passing for white while hiding her past. As time goes on, they and their respective daughters realize you can never quite cut the ties of the past.
This book touches upon so many worthy topics. The themes of race and racism captured in this book are among the most nuanced and insightful I have come across. At its core, racism is the opportunity for one group to make themselves feel better by acting out to oppress another. There is no group that is immune to being the oppressor, including those that are oppressed themselves. The way the light-skinned colored people of Mallard act towards dark-skinned people both captures the insidiousness of racism (racism only begets more racism) and its pervasiveness in society. I appreciate the book's honesty on this, no matter how disheartening it is to think about.
Another interesting theme captured over and over is whether someone can ever leave their past and heritage behind to make a clean start. The twins ran away thinking they could be the controller of their own destiny. But as they grow older and their paths diverge, it becomes apparent that their years growing up in Mallard continues to follow them. Even as they meet different opportunities and experiences, their past still contributes to shape their decisions and ultimately where they end up. It's possible to live separate lives through different decisions, as illustrated by the twins' dual contrasting paths, but they still remain within the parameters of their past.
The twins' daughters are also molded by their mothers, yet they are a new generation, the first to break through the confines of their mothers' past. The daughters could truly say they are making strides when it comes to racism, having been given increased opportunities, which allow them to become more open and accepting than their mothers (as racism begets more racism, opportunities beget less). Another interesting point is that one daughter grew up with privilege and wealth, while the other grew up wanting. Yet, through choices and motivations, the one who grew up with less arguably ended up with more. And that is an encouraging thought.
This story covers so much ground, both in terms of the strands of the twins' and their daughters' narratives, as well as its exploration of race, gender, identity, and belonging. The writing is beautiful and poignant, flowing smoothly along while guiding the reader from one insightful observation to another. What a powerful read, indeed.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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