Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half Will Join A Catalogue of Thought-provoking Books

I can’t lie, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately and I can’t put my finger on the reason; maybe it’s because I’ve recently finished my degree and have taken some time to empty my mind. Maybe it’s the incessant bloody heat right now. Nevertheless, I turned to Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half to snap me out of it and I wasn’t disappointed.

The story follows Desiree and Stella, two identical twins living in a small, southern Black community. The two women have such light skin that they could be mistaken as white and this is why, after running away together at sixteen, they begin to realise that even though they’re identical, they have the power to live their own unique lives.

While Desiree returns to the town she once tried to escape from and decides to live her life as a Black woman, Stella realises that there is a life of wealth and privilege waiting for her, but only if she becomes a white woman.

Desiree is incomplete without her twin. Stella spends her life hiding the fact she has a sister at all. It’s only when their daughters grow up and become curious that the the string between the twins starts to tighten again.

I have no doubt that The Vanishing Half will join a catalogue of thought-provoking books, alongside the likes of Toni Morrison, for example. Beyond the incredible scenes of tension, Bennett has opened my eyes to a culture that, I must admit, I wasn’t particularly aware of, and that’s the identity struggle of light-skinned Black people.

‘The first time she’d ever been white, Stella couldn’t wait to tell Desiree what she’d done . . . But that evening, when Stella returned home, she passed her sister in the hallway and said nothing . . . She had shared everything with Desiree. She wanted something of her own.’

The characters are intriguing, frustrating and wholesome all at once. Bennett’s writing is emotional and makes you feel as though each character could have their own novel.

There has been an amazing amount of hype around this book which definitely influenced my reading of it, but it was teachable and relevant and I highly recommend it.

- Katie S x