Getting Lost in The Vanishing Half
If you wanted another Colleen Hoover read, you’re about to be disappointed. After completing my short Hoover Hits stint, I am back sifting through my wish list, and this pick, a favorite of Barack Obama, caught my eye to tackle next. Not necessarily because I think Barack has impeccable taste, but more so because I don’t think we’d have too many more future book crossover opportunities - unless he was into Fifty Shades of Grey, but I doubt it.
The book I’m talking about is ‘The Vanishing Half.’ Its written by an up and coming black female author, Brit Bennett and had been a NYT bestseller for weeks, had all the makings of a great book. But did it live up to the hype?
I started listening to it on a roadtrip, where staying awake was priority #1. That it did not excel in, at least not at the beginning. Unlike the other books we’ve discussed on the blog this year, this one has quite a slow start. A lot of back story and almost a painfully obnoxious level of detail. Another piece that caught me off guard was the narration itself, it is a thicker than a Snicker level southern accent. It was mumbled, low and fast all at once. A learning curve you eventually get accustomed to, but if thats too much, find joy and hope in the fact that if you read it straight from the page, you’ll never understand what I’m talking about in the first place and it won’t even be an issue.
The first couple of chapters to this book were so slow in fact, that I stopped reading it for about a month - it didn’t excite me to jump back into and I even considered dropping it all together. Honestly, what stopped me from doing that was the fact it was so beloved, because if it didn’t have that clout, not sure I would’ve stuck with it. Fast-forward and I am so glad I did, but I wouldn’t be insulted if you didn’t.
Subject-matter wise, this book primarily tackles racism and argues how much of your own destiny you can control. It starts in the 1950s and takes you through a journey all the way to the 1990’s - seeing the world change through two very different perspectives. Identical twin sisters born in a small town in the deep south both take the cards they were dealt with and play very differently - one identifying as a black woman and another as a white woman. This book constantly jumps between their lives at various key points, even when their separate lives clash again through their children. This book leans heavily into the question of - if you master controlling your narrative, can you trick fate?
This book does pick up speed a bit before the halfway point, and from then on, I couldn’t put it down. It focuses heavily on colorism within black culture and doesn’t hide its impact. Warning though that as a white woman, some language made me cringe hard. While relevant to the story - prepared to be uncomfortable, but you’ll get through it.
This book really made me consider things I have the luxury to not often think about, which is refreshing and puts things in perspective. This read was one truly out of my comfort zone and typical book choices, but for that reason alone, I recommend it. Barack knew was he was talking about, I’ll give him that. Join Barack and myself in this enlightening journey, at least you know you’ll be in good company - ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett.
