Tournament of Books discussion

thread about The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

While I liked this novel a fair bit, I feel like it relied too heavily on coincidences to make the plot work. Jude as a caterer in LA works a job in Beverly Hills and befriends a rebellious attendee who just so happens to be her first cousin?!

Also...wait, what's the spoiler situation in here?

Yeah, I can remember at least three occasions where people just coincidentally encounter other people in the two largest cities in the country. Once, fine, but to drive the whole engine of the plot on that so often...

I agree - they're the kind of coincidences that can happen in real life, but seem ridiculous in fiction.

I would have loved to see her previous novel in the tournament but I don't have as much to say about this one.

I thought her previous novel, The Mothers, was in the tourney...in fact I know it was because of the controversy surrounding the judgment...

It absolutely was, although I don't recall the controversy. I preferred this book to The Mothers, but it still didn't wow me.

Heather wrote: "I thought her previous novel, The Mothers, was in the tourney...in fact I know it was because of the controversy surrounding the judgment..."

Ah, before my time.

I thought the premise and a lot of the content was interesting! But the two central characters, Stella and Desiree, were pretty blah to me throughout the novel.

Doesn’t help that I recently re-read Nella Larsen’s excellent novella Passing and I couldn’t help comparing the two.

Theresa wrote: "I thought the premise and a lot of the content was interesting! But the two central characters, Stella and Desiree, were pretty blah to me throughout the novel.

Doesn’t help that I recently re-re..."

Like Theresa, I think Passing is the better book, but The Vanishing Half felt like a juicy, immersive book that didn't do any fancy tricks and felt almost like old fashioned reading pleasure. As opposed to Passing, which felt like a very prickly book and that's what made it so strong and memorable for me.

Stella...I don't know...getting away with it all in the end was slightly dissatisfying. I mean, I get it. Why blow up your life when you don't have to, but it got swept under the rug by Kennedy too. I don't know what "not getting away with it" would look like in this novel but it might have been an interesting development. Maybe that's been done too much?

Bob wrote: "Stella...I don't know...getting away with it all in the end was slightly dissatisfying. I mean, I get it. Why blow up your life when you don't have to, but it got swept under the rug by Kennedy too..."

I think Stella's trajectory, as told in The Vanishing Half, may well accurately reflect the willingness of the black community to allow each individual to choose their own path when it comes to racial identification. I lived a large chunk of my adult life in Louisiana, and it was truly common there for extended families to have separated into some parts that lived as "white" (whatever that means) and some parts that lived as "black" (whatever that means). What keeps going 'round and 'round in my head after reading this book is all of the implications this all continues to carry from the old distressing notion of "one drop of blood" -- all those bizarre southern terms like quadroon and octaroon and mulatto -- and why does a situation like that of Rachel Dolezal strike everyone as so different (definitely an example of "not getting away with it").

Nadine wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I thought the premise and a lot of the content was interesting! But the two central characters, Stella and Desiree, were pretty blah to me throughout the novel.

Doesn’t help that ..."

I agree on this being an immersive story that felt like old fashioned reading. Part of that was the third person omniscient POV, which is generally seen as "outdated" and discouraged for modern fiction. I think this is a great example of how it can work, and it provided just the right reading experience I needed to fall into this story. I found myself not wanting it to end, mainly because I wanted more of Jude, Reese, Desiree, and Early. I agree that Stella and Kennedy weren't the best characters and took up a good amount of space here, but I still enjoyed it and wanted more.

I was forgiving on the coincidences, because I've experienced a handful of those myself and think it's a fun part of the world seeming so "small" sometimes. For example, after I got back from living in Chile in 2009 I was pouring beer at an outdoor festival in my hometown in northern California and while I didn't check the ID of most people in my line (because they looked over 30) there was one person I asked for ID without really knowing why. When he showed it to me I saw that he was from the small beach town in Chile that I had just been living in. I've also run into people from my hometown (a relatively small city) and people who knew my aunt and uncle in other countries. Anyway, I find it fun when things like that come together, even if it's used to move a novel's plot forward. ;)

Phyllis wrote: "Bob wrote: "Stella...I don't know...getting away with it all in the end was slightly dissatisfying. I mean, I get it. Why blow up your life when you don't have to, but it got swept under the rug by..."

I would say the Dolezal situation is pretty different from Black people choosing to pass as white since it helps them escape the terrors of racism in this country. One of my book clubs recently read The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race and there's an essay on Dolezal called "Blacker Than Thou" by Kevin Young. Here are some quotes that I think capture his points, (referring to Dolezal teaching black studies) "She wears the mask not to hide but to gain authority over the very thing she claims to want to be. How very white of her!" And, "Given her disproven lies, abuse does not so much provide an explanation for her behavior as much as a distraction: true or not, like her making slavery a mere metaphor it would seem part of a scenario of victimhood, which to her is also, inherently, black. Borrowed blackness and nativeness provide her the ultimate virtual victimhood."

One of the book club members is an older white woman who really struggles with this because she's always identified with the Black community more than the white one. She doesn't try to pass as Black like Dolezal, but she struggles with how she believes she can emphasize with some of the struggles Black folks experience because of the specific hardships she's endured. It was a long conversation, but I highly recommend that essay collection!

I agree with you on how there's some openness to letting folks choose their path if they have that option. I definitely need to read Passing soon!

Nadine wrote: "I agree - they're the kind of coincidences that can happen in real life, but seem ridiculous in fiction."

This is so true! and contrary-wise, everyone seems primed to believe whatever is written in a purported 'true story,' even if it's a story about an anesthesia-free root canal.

Lauren wrote: "I agree on this being an immersive story that felt like old fashioned reading. Part of that was the third person omniscient POV, which is generally seen as "outdated" and discouraged for modern fiction. ..."

Is anyone else getting mighty tired of first-person, present-tense point of view, though? I am. Although this novel uses a more conventional storytelling strategy, it felt new to me, just because so few people are writing like this. Also from the first page it felt so beautifully told, where there was a real mastery of sentence and story. So confident.

lark wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I agree on this being an immersive story that felt like old fashioned reading. Part of that was the third person omniscient POV, which is generally seen as "outdated" and discouraged..."

Yes, the POV choice came up in her interview for the Texas Book Festival, and I also found it refreshing. I think there are still some first-person present-tense stories I've enjoyed, but I'm glad the author chose what she did for this story, and generally appreciate variety for that.

FYI: Brit Bennett was on Bookworm. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

I really enjoyed this book, and I'll admit I struggled to finish The Mothers - I didn't mind a lot of the coincidences but I have been noodling on what seems to me to be parallel themes in the book that I can't quite make out what the author is trying to say: I saw clear parallels between the concepts of 'blackness' and those of gender in the two characters that leave their family behind to live their chosen identities. But one we naturally frown upon (the passing as white and falsification of her family history) while the other we support (the transitioning to male of the boyfriend and rejection of their dead identity's family). Are we to equivocate these two and perhaps give Stella more of a break? Or are we to see them as different because in one, the dominant/oppressive majority is joined to claim a white identity while a fragile minority is joined in claiming a male identity? If anyone knows if the author has discussed these two topics in conversation with each other, I'd love to be pointed to them.

Amy wrote: "I really enjoyed this book, and I'll admit I struggled to finish The Mothers - I didn't mind a lot of the coincidences but I have been noodling on what seems to me to be parallel th..."
You know, Amy, there are so many things about this book that have continued to have me thinking, even though I found it a bit slow while reading it. The dichotomy you point out between the racial passing by Stella and the gender passing by Reese is certainly one of those points. Another is the notion of the colorism Jude experienced in the tiny town of Mallard as contrasted with Stella & Kennedy's whiteness never even being questioned in the larger world. I think there was a third contrast of societal class touched on far more lightly between the highly-successful lawyer Sam Winston who abused Desiree and the convicted felon turned bounty hunter Early who could not have been steadier or kinder.

I'm pretty amazed that Brit Bennett resisted the temptation of polemic and instead just let all of these contrasts sit there for the reader to contemplate on their own. Wherever anyone lands in their thoughts on any of this, it certainly makes one question all of the categories into which we put people and why we ever think it is okay to force our typology onto others. At bottom for me, I think this story highlighted the need to set aside any preconceived expectations about what any person should be or is or the experiences they've had, and instead let each human define themself.

Phyllis wrote: "Amy wrote: "I really enjoyed this book, and I'll admit I struggled to finish The Mothers - I didn't mind a lot of the coincidences but I have been noodling on what seems to me to be..."

Excellent points, Amy and Phyllis. I'm surprised I didn't pick up on the contrast of Early and Sam, but I definitely appreciate the author incorporating that element.

I think Stella is meant to challenge readers, especially those of us who are white. She gives us plenty of reasons to put her in the "bad" category, but I think Bennett's hoping we dig deep on the issue and recognize these things can't necessarily be black and white (pun only partially intended).

There's still plenty to think about with this one; I'm very curious how it will be received by judges since it's generally been so popular with readers (winning a Goodreads Choice Award, and a few others).

Amy wrote: " I saw clear parallels between the concepts of 'blackness' and those of gender"

Not just Stella passing and Reese transitioning: Barry the transvestite, Kennedy the actor - plenty of echoes of Stella in the rest of the cast playing or becoming someone else.

There's also the chase - chasing people, chasing dreams....

Phyllis wrote "I'm pretty amazed that Brit Bennett resisted the temptation of polemic and instead just let all of these contrasts sit there for the reader to contemplate on their own. "

Yeah, I thought that was a real strength - that she trusted her readers enough not to lecture, and that her novel was vivid enough that she didn't need to.

I also appreciated the fact that this book (like =Deacon King Kong=) avoided both an easy cynicism and and the need to make an example out of the characters' human failings.

I read this a short time ago....enjoyed it every much.

Phyllis, I agree that this book “teaches” us to set aside preconceived expectations and encourages us to be open to people categorizing themselves however they want to, whether that’s Stella who is escaping a minority position or Reese who is embracing one. I put “teaches” in quotes because, like others have noted, the teaching is done with a very light touch here. Bennett trusts us as readers to dive deeply into the book and draw our own conclusions. I love that. Yes, this book got a ton of positive attention, but I think it was well-deserved. I expect it will do well in this year’s TOB.

This was a pretty good book. Did it remind anyone else of Homegoing?

Kyle wrote: "This was a pretty good book. Did it remind anyone else of Homegoing?"

I'm having trouble seeing a connection between The Vanishing Half and Homegoing, beyond maybe . . . generational family? What is the connection for you, Kyle?

Generational family, parallel plotlines, and ending with characters going swimming.

Kyle wrote: "Generational family, parallel plotlines...."

also, =War and Peace=

Kyle wrote: ...ending with characters going swimming."

um, except for the swimming.

Not sure what you mean, Tim, so maybe (since it's been a few years since I read Homegoing) it didn't end with swimming? Or are you saying that Reese and Jude didn't swim? And what does War and Peace have to do with anything?

Kyle wrote: "Not sure what you mean, Tim, so maybe (since it's been a few years since I read Homegoing) it didn't end with swimming? Or are you saying that Reese and Jude didn't swim? And what does War and Peac..."

Ha, I think he's saying War and Peace has generational family and parallel plotlines, but no swimming. :)

oh, ha! got it.

i did think of another thing - both of them kind of end with a sort of reconciliation (not entirely on Stella/Kennedy's part) of these separated families. maybe it was that that triggered the association I made? in any case, I should probably reread Homegoing after the tournament...

Kyle wrote: "oh, ha! got it.

i did think of another thing - both of them kind of end with a sort of reconciliation (not entirely on Stella/Kennedy's part) of these separated families. maybe it was that that t..."

I recently picked up a hard copy of Homegoing (I listened to it the first time), and I'm really looking forward to getting to that one before our Tournament of Favorites. Hopefully it makes that short list!

I just finished this one and loved it. A novel written to explore ideas is almost always going to be far better than one intent on pushing a point of view onto the reader. I appreciate how light Bennett's hand was here. It would have been so easy to punish Stella for her choice or to make her one-dimensional. I loved her depth.

And I appreciate Bennett's writing skill. The whole novel flowed effortlessly and the writing never called attention to itself.