The Vansihing Half
BY Harsimran Kaur ON Oct 18 , 2021 IN BOOK REVIEWS, THE VANSIHING HALF/Britt Benette /FICTION
Rating: 3.5/5
We all have a past! It is concomitant to our present which holds the future. We try to evade it but its clings to us obstinately like lichen clings to a rock.
The book’ The Vanishing Half” by Britt Benette, highlights the complexity of past and how it transforms our inclinations and perceptions—our valued relationships might plummet from the cliff, our desires may rock into tiny pebbles bereft of any concrete shape and we might be left with confronted expectations and an identity crisis.
Twins Desiree and Stella Vignes reside in Mallard a town inhabited by light-skinned African Americans. Prospect of a better life and with bigger dreams compel the twins to leave their town and reach New Orleans. Their divergence of characters is a conceivable fact presented in the book.Stella is a book lover, biddable and dependent on her twin. Desiree is headstrong and spirited. As perilous circumstances moon over them they dissect their path, followed by perfidy, subjugation to one’s own frills and fancies and striving hard to put the lace back into the shoe.Stella’s and Desiree’s struggles are stoically concatenated in the future challenges encountered by their children.
Britt Benette’s effortless writing will pull back the readers back to a world battling issues of racism and bigotry, and favouringly also broaches the topic of family, love, relationships and self-acceptance. All praises for the writer for etching strong female characters striving to carve a life free of prejudice. The book depicts their life and inhibitions and finally adopting a voice to burl the voice of female empowerment.
Take Away
Identity is complicated.It leaves incorrigible wounds that refuse to heal. Any bolstered patch in one’s identity affects mental capacity and self-esteem of an individual. The author has fastidiously elaborated on the issues of identity that ramshackle the sanctity of our being, and no matter how hard we try, it pummels us with a fierce penetration of our vulnerabilities. The book is about choices we make and its impact on our tumultuous journey of life.
Right on my man!
Right on my man!