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The Vanishing Half
- A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
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Written by: Brit Bennett
Publisher's Summary
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.
What the critics say
"[Bennett’s] fiction is filled with very simple truths that are extremely wise." (Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal)
"Not to be missed." (Harper’s Bazaar)
"Here, in her sensitive, elegant prose, [Bennett] evokes both the strife of racism, and what it does to a person even if they can evade some of its elements." (Vogue)
Featured Article: Must-Listen Audiobooks by Outstanding Black Authors
It has taken too long, but the world is finally waking up to the incredible world of Black authors. Iconic names such as Octavia Butler, Zadie Smith, and Zora Neale Hurston have earned their spotlight onto the public sphere, while famous titles like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) and Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison) have rightly made ground in top lists the world over. Initiatives such as Black History Month have dragged race issues onto the world stage, while the literary landscape is filled with upcoming Black authors such as Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orisha), Yaa Gyasi (Homegoing) and more. There is no excuse not to dig into the best audiobooks by Black authors, starting with the 10 listed below. Happy listening!
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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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- Anonymous User
- 2021-03-26
Amazing Read!
This book is one you won't be able to put down. Brit Bennett weaves her characters through a timeless story. One of my fave books! The narrator is fantastic and makes this story come alive in a way that I couldn't reading it on my own. Every time I stopped listening I couldn't wait to return to it. well worth it- you won't be disappointed.
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