Reviews

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

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joetatum24's review against another edition

5.0

What parts of ourselves do we hide, hoping they’ll vanish completely? I once went on a date with someone who was obsessed with art in which the title of the art changes the meaning of its contents. I find myself mulling over the different layers of vanishing that occur in this novel- vanishing from society, self, family. The pacing and plot of this novel are engaging and compelling and while reading, I found so many moments of wisdom, particularly at the end of sections or chapters. Characters’ lives interweave beautifully and time, location, and race are all important factors that are explored quite wholly throughout. Definitely would recommend. The rare novel that I really enjoyed that didn’t also make me cry.

nike_1212's review against another edition

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5.0

The amount of times I got goosebumps... I can’t even count. Such a special book.

m4heeen's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I found her writing style engaging and the initial premise of the book was interesting, but then it all got so... random?

I think the author was trying to explore so many different societal nuances (..?) i.e

colourism, passing for white, being transgender, and inter-racial relationships

, but she got so caught up in how much she was trying to stuff into this book, none of it was ever deeply explored.

Kennedy as a whole just pissed me off, I don't know how much of that was intentional, but I couldn't stand her. Maybe it's just impossible for me to tolerate characters who get everything handed to them. She was so unapologetically spoilt it got on my nerves.

I also don't understand what she was trying to convey with that whole Frantz relationship. She talked about Kennedy having childhood crushes on Black men, and the way in which she spoke of them made them sound less like people and more like objects..? Maybe not objects but definitely not people she felt equal to. I think their entire relationship was just mutual fetishisation. Kennedy had always wanted to date Black men but never could, and Frantz was on his fourth White girl. I also found it odd that Bennett added the fact that Kennedy would call Frantz the n-word during sex (per his request). I know it's a very real thing but I just can't understand what she was trying to convey with it.

Another thing, I found it incredibly unrealistic how quickly Stella and Desiree's relationship returned to normal for the moments they were together in the diner. It felt like a lot of the time she was just trying to avoid dialogue between characters because she couldn't figure out what anyone would say in a situation like that.

I think most of my gripes from this book just come from my confusion and lack of understanding. If anyone does actually see this and has actually read the book, please provide me with some explanation.