B
Brit Bennett
Brit Bennett is the author of the bestsellers The Mothers and The Vanishing Half. She writes fiction that explores race, identity, and the lasting impact of family secrets. Her stories follow
The Vanishing Half
- Pages
- 352
- Published
- 2020
- Language
- English
Synopsis
The Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella, grow up inseparable in Mallard, Louisiana — a small, unmarked town founded by light-skinned Black families who prize their paleness. At sixteen, the sisters run away together to New Orleans. Years later their lives could not be more different: one returns home with a dark-skinned daughter, and the other has vanished into a new life, secretly passing as white and cutting off everyone she once loved.
Moving between the 1950s and the 1990s and across the country from Louisiana to California, Brit Bennett's novel traces the twins' diverging paths and the fate of their daughters, whose worlds unexpectedly collide. What Stella has hidden shapes not only her own marriage but the lives of a next generation who inherit her silence.
A sweeping, intimate family saga, The Vanishing Half asks how much of ourselves we can invent, what we owe the people we leave behind, and how the choices of one generation ripple into the next.
Genres
Characters
Desiree VignesProtagonist
One of the Vignes twins, who returns home to Mallard with a dark-skinned daughter.
Stella VignesProtagonist
Desiree's twin, who vanishes into a new life secretly passing as white.
Kennedy SandersSupporting
Stella's daughter with Blake Sanders, raised in Los Angeles unaware that her mother is Black and passing as white.
Jude VignesSupporting
Desiree's dark-skinned daughter, bullied in Mallard, who attends UCLA and later crosses paths with her unknown cousin Kennedy.
Reese CarterSupporting
Born Therese Anne Carter; a trans man and aspiring photographer who becomes Jude's long-time partner.
Book of the Month Book of the Year (2020)Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction (2020)
Frequently asked questions
Is the town of Mallard based on a real place?
The town is entirely fictional, though the author has noted it was inspired by a memory shared by her mother regarding a community with a specific history of colorism.
Is there a film or television adaptation of this book?
HBO acquired the rights to develop a limited series based on the novel, with the author serving as an executive producer on the project.