The Vanishing Half
A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)
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The Vanishing Half
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Narrated by:
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Shayna Small
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Written by:
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Brit Bennett
About this listen
Number one New York Times best seller
One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year
Named a Best Book of 2020 by The New York Times * The Washington Post * NPR * People * Time Magazine * Vanity Fair * Glamour
“Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” (Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal)
“A story of absolute, universal timelessness.... For any era, it's an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it's piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be.” (Entertainment Weekly)
From The New York Times best-selling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one Black and one White.
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern Black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for White, and her White husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
As with her New York Times best-selling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing pause resister about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate, and wise.
©2020 Brit Bennett (P)2020 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
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About the Creator
Featured Article: Must-Listen Audiobooks by Outstanding Black Authors
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What listeners say about The Vanishing Half
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-09-05
Amazing book!
I absolutely loved this book from the first line to the last. I was so sad when it ended, I just wanted the story to continue on and on. The character development was wonderful, the story line gripping, while the words flow like prose! A must read/listen!!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-12-16
it kind of went on to much about shades of black..
struggled to finish it...had its moments. narration was good. it was just so so. you be the judge!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dennis dumont
- 2021-08-17
excellent reading
Truly loved listening to this book. The narrator was amazing. The novel was very good. A bit of an abrupt ending but I'm not sure how it could have ended differently.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- 2021-08-07
A bit anti climactic
I really enjoyed the first half of this story. It felt like it was building to something exciting and unique. By the end the story sort of plateaued, the characters stopped evolving and then the story just stopped.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Madame O
- 2021-05-27
Interesting idea but...
The storyline was intriguing but I found the book itself to be lightweight. Disappointing.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Aida Faber
- 2021-02-07
Interesting book well narrated
It is a bit slow until you get to the middle then it becomes interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tasty Sunshine
- 2020-07-23
Couldn't put it down
I absolutely loved this book and all of the praise and 5 star reviews are completely justified. a beautifully told story that captured the personality and motivation of each character.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DiaRose
- 2021-02-24
Beauty Is In The Eyes of The Beholder
Very interesting book.
I can't wait to discuss it at bookclub with all the girls.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S Didcott
- 2024-07-23
Great story with so many issues to think about
Well written - this story make you think long and hard about so many issues ppl face in society. A lot to dissect and discuss.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-12-10
Captivating
I was captivated by the characters, not the usual run-of-the-mill story, scenes or characters.
Loved it.
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