It makes a genuine attempt at deciphering how and why these unfortunate beings go to extreme lengths to live a ‘white lie’. WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE VANISHING HALFĭespite its fictional plot, The Vanishing Halfbeautifully examines the deep-rooted bias against people of color.

However, a chance encounter reunites the two sisters and old wounds open up, leading to confirmations and confrontations. The story spans decades as the girls settle in their respective lives and start new families. However, the two sisters go separate ways with Stella continuing to lead a false life as a ‘white’ just so the society would accept her. Not wanting to waste their lives doing menial jobs, the two flee from the town in search of freedom. The father of the twins dies due to a hate crime and, just like their mother, Adele, the twins soon find themselves working as maids for the wealthy whites. In Mallard, being light-skinned is not just a prerequisite but also a major driving force for the residents. The population of Mallard primarily consists of African Americans. The Vanishing Half is the tale of two twin sisters, Stella and Desiree Vignes, in a fictional town of Mallard in Louisiana. The novel went on to become a New York Times Bestseller and was labelled as one of The New York Times ten best books of 2020. The Vanishing Half is Bennett’s second book. The author also received a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction along with the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers in 2014 while still studying at the Michigan University. The article received widespread recognition and was viewed over a million times within three days. In 2014, Bennett wrote an essay about Jezebel, the Israeli queen, titled ‘I Don’t Know What to Do with Good White People’, while pursuing her master’s degree. Britt Bennett is the bestselling, award-winning author of the critically acclaimed debut novel, The Mothers.

The vanishing half review