Happy Hump Day! I come to you today with a Worth-It Wednesday. A fellow bookish friend of mine came up with the name & I would like to give her credit, Thanks Dia!
If you are a avid reader & search out books, we often are bombarded by new releases rather then back listed books. Until recently, I would have rarely gone to the store and picked up the newest books. However, thanks to a few podcasts, I have hauled quite a few. That being said I want to do a mid-week review on newer release or hyped books to see if they are Worth It!
Alas, I come to you with The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I posted on Friday that it was one of my weekend reads. It consumed my weekend, which i am not complaining about! I love when a book captures me and its very rare!
The book is set in Mallard, LA which is a fictional town solely inhabited by black people who strive to marry lighter, in order for their children to be lighter or whiter. (In a interview, Brit said she got the idea from her mom who grew up in the South and there was an actual town you cant find on maps that was truly like this.) We are introduced to Stella & Desire Vignes, twin sisters who one night witness the lynching of their dad. It sets the tone of how each of them growing up was effected at that moment of witnessing the trauma. These sisters were tight, close as any twin siblings you can think of but this one situation rather then bringing them closer they dramatically lead different lives. One married the darkest black man she can find living as a black woman, while they other one runs away to live and pass as white. They embark on two different paths, but the story connects their stories with their daughters.
The author does a great job at world building, where you feel you are in the cities, homes and atmospheres of the characters. She touches on identity of ones self in various stages of each characters life makes you think, "How much would I risk to block out a traumatic experience in my life?" "Would I go as far as overtaking a whole other life completely separate from my original upbringing?" Basically, identity is complicated.
Is this book warranted all the praise? An astounding YESSSSS!!! It is not an easy read, it's deep but not too hard to understand what the take away is going to be. It left me wanting more backstory to almost all the supporting characters which in my book a good author does - ahem Toni Morrison. She respects every character even though you will tend to like some over others.
This is my book club pick this month & I can not wait to discuss this! I can't wait to discuss this with anyone, so let me know if you read it or are planning to put this on your list! If so, you need to move it up on that list!
And yes, Imitation of Life, ran all thru my head and Nat King Cole's unparalleled movie opening son thru out my reading!
Have a good day peeps!
