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A review by harry_lemon
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75⭐
Alexa, play "The girl, so confusing version with Lorde"
I have mixed feelings about this book. I'll start by saying that this book was extremely well-written; this was my first time reading Brit Bennett's work and I will definitely be reading "Mothers" in the near future. I loved the complex and intricate relationship between the main characters, Desiree and Stella, seeing how they interact and engage each other, even though not in direct ways.
However, I think part of the problem in my reading was that I found myself comparing the work a little too much to "Passing" by Nella Larsen. I found many of the themes and conversations paralleled in the works that I found it a little repetitive. I think if I hadn't already read "Passing" I might have enjoyed this work a lot more. That said, I liked that Bennett added new dimensions to the characters that added layers to their stories and made it different enough from "Passing" that I still found the overall work engaging. In summation, I think this work is a great piece to read and delved into extremely important topics of sisterhood, motherhood, self-identification, race identity, and self-acceptance.
Alexa, play "The girl, so confusing version with Lorde"
I have mixed feelings about this book. I'll start by saying that this book was extremely well-written; this was my first time reading Brit Bennett's work and I will definitely be reading "Mothers" in the near future. I loved the complex and intricate relationship between the main characters, Desiree and Stella, seeing how they interact and engage each other, even though not in direct ways.
However, I think part of the problem in my reading was that I found myself comparing the work a little too much to "Passing" by Nella Larsen. I found many of the themes and conversations paralleled in the works that I found it a little repetitive. I think if I hadn't already read "Passing" I might have enjoyed this work a lot more. That said, I liked that Bennett added new dimensions to the characters that added layers to their stories and made it different enough from "Passing" that I still found the overall work engaging. In summation, I think this work is a great piece to read and delved into extremely important topics of sisterhood, motherhood, self-identification, race identity, and self-acceptance.