The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a different type of 5 stars book. It's a book driven by characters and their development and not necessarily the plot. As a friend of mine said, "That's a tough book to write well and I think this author nailed it." And Brit Bennett really did nail it.
The Vanishing Half is about two identical twins, Desiree and Stella Vignes, who grow up in a small, southern black community before running away together as teenagers to New Orleans. Eventually, the sisters' lives take very different turns and they live very different lives. One eventually returning to the town she had dreamed of escaping as a child and the other secretly passing for white.
While I read this book pretty quickly, it is not a "fast" read. It makes you think and it makes you feel. You kind of "chew" your way through it. It's a really unique perspective during the historical period the book is set.
Racism is something I haven't experienced and so can't speak to how it feels. In college, I did a study abroad in China and I remember being told that women (at least in the town the university was in) carried umbrellas to keep the sun off their faces so they wouldn't get too dark and bought creams to try and lighten their skin. Because of my white privilege, the significance of this didn't hit me until reading this book. That whiteness is currently (I say currently because I hope it's starting to change) symbolic of "better," that within their own community people are discriminated for being "too dark" or "too light." That someone would have to pretend they are something they're not in order to have a chance at a better life. The depth of that pain must be so deep.
I feel this explains Stella a lot. She's had so much fear and pain in her life that it's kind of made her into the worst version of herself. That being said, I didn't like her. Jude and Reese were my favorites throughout the entire book. They both had a lot of discrimination and hate to deal with just based on who they were, but they leaned on each other, accepted each other, and loved each other. I have this picture in my head of them finding each other and finally being able to release the breaths they've been holding. It was beautiful reading their story. I wished there had been even more of it.
Desiree and Stella run away to New Orleans and while the New Orleans food scene offers a variety of amazing dishes to choose from, I chose beignets for this picture. Since I'm not in New Orleans and can't stop by Cafe Du Monde for a side of beignet heaven, I found a southern-style restaurant not far from my apartment that makes a worthy substitution. Four Friends Kitchen in Denver, CO (http://www.fourfriendskitchen.com/) serves their warm beignets with a side of creme anglais and wild berry preserves. I knew the creme anglais would be good, but the wild berry preserves were out-of-this-world. The tang from the berries paired with the warm, sugary, crispy exterior-but-fluffy-interior created the perfect bite.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kim
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