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Passing

Written by: Nella Larsen
Narrated by: Tessa Thompson
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$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

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Light-skinned Black woman Irene Redfield encounters an old childhood friend - Clare - who is now "passing" as a White woman. Clare is married to a racist White man, who doesn't know she has African American blood. In spite of the danger of being found out by her husband and society at large, she finds herself helplessly drawn to Irene's world....

Passing is a fascinating listening experience on many simultaneous levels.

©1929 Nella Larsen (P)2020 Audible, Inc. Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Fiction
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This was not what I expected. I read it quickly, found I kept thinking about it and have just finished a re-listen. This powerful novella has so many secrets linked to race, class, motherhood, friendships, marriage - and how many secrets are continually subsumed to lead a comfortable life.

Irene is fascinated with the flamboyant Clare (who has been passing as white for over a decade), and I did wonder why the queer subtext was never explored more in the novella, but made more sense when I found out this was written in the 1920s. I am so pleased I carried on to the end, as the strained relationship between the two main characters gets, at times, uncomfortable.

Tessa Thompson narrates, and will be in the upcoming film adaptation.

So Many Secrets

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I found this piece to be an incite full view of social progresses taking place at this specific time.

The character development

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This really opened my eyes that then, people of color that were light skined were somewhat given a choice of the lifestyles they wanted. Be it ignoring their color and living as a white person would then. Brushing away any history of their true background from the immediate family.

I did the same thing in my life, but it was the other way around.

looking beyond color

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There was an interesting storyline hitting on some hard topics, but I found myself having to hit rewind multiple times due to my mind wandering. I just couldn’t keep myself into the narration so I’m glad it wasn’t too long of a book.

Interesting story

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I was fascinated with the storyline and enjoyed it immensely. The Characters felt real and flawed, struggling not only with race related issues of the time but also the expected conformity and other societal norms. I will be recommending this book to friends.

Interesting read

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