The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet

    This week in the Anderson book club we read The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet, a book that follows a family's struggles with race, class and lies. This book is jammed pack with discussion topics which made it a perfect book club read, though it is also great to just read by yourself.  

     The book starts off in the late 1960s, with a set of light skinned black twins living in a small southern town named Mallard (so small it's not on a map). At the age of sixteen they run away, from the small oppressing town they lived in, to arrive at New Orleans. From here they part ways (Stella runs away) and go on to live two very different lives. Desiree moves up North where she has a daughter Jude. Her husband is abusive, forcing her to flee with her daughter back to the town she tried to escape, Mallard.

    In Mallard Jude is bullied for her race (she's black) and escapes at the first chance she gets, a track scholarship to UCLA.  Meanwhile Stella live as a white in Los Angeles, her husband knows nothing about her past, and the family and identity she left behind knows nothing her whereabout. She has a daughter, Katherine, around the same age as Jude and struggling through life (quit collage, struggling actor). 

    Jude needs money, so she ends up getting a job as a caterer, traveling around the rich neighborhoods as a bartender. One day while she is at a party she runs into Stella and her daughter. She only sees her for a second, but it's enough for her to realize who it was. Later she runs into Katherine at one of her plays and befriended her to figure out what happened to Stella. As Jude and Katherine grow closer to each other, more truths are reveled. As the story goes on the effects of the two different paths of the twins shows in their lives and kids' lives from how they live, to the relationships and happiness.  

    The story does such a great job of exploring the difficulties of identity, following the story of this family for a generation. How the actions of the parents trickle down to affect their kids and effect their relationships. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the way the information is presented to us. The author dedicates chapters to different characters thoughts and perspectives and will jump around to different time periods. So, you will know information that the character doesn't know adding a bit of suspense. This is an amazing, well written story and I would recommend you check it out. 

    - Sophie A.