Completed June 2021
THE VANISHING
HALF
It's widely believed there are at least a few fundamental facts about yourself that can never change. For example, your date of birth, your eye colour, your ethnicity – all permanent... right? Well, The Vanishing Half disagrees. This was a complex and beautifully woven story about a woman who takes advantage of her light skin tone to shrug off her Black origins, and claim her place in a white world. For her, identity is far more fluid than you might imagine.
The novel's narrative is similarly mobile, frequently shifting between perspectives and periods. This felt quite disruptive at times – as soon as you settled into a flowing series of events, the story jolted elsewhere. If this sounds like a criticism, it's not, as if anything this dynamic structure made the story even more compelling. It never let you get too comfortable, and always left you wanting more. I felt as if each of the main cast could have been in the spotlight throughout and I wouldn't have tired of exploring their journeys. I really enjoyed their complexity, and how much I was left with to pick apart as storylines came to a close.
This book pulled no punches. Its narrative felt starkly honest, shocking in a way which was unfortunately very believable. In particular, when crimes committed against the Black population of Mallard were told nonchalantly, it really hit home – it wasn't a shock to the victims, or their families. I had to stop to reflect on the mirror this held up to today. It can be all too easy to let the headlines blur into one, but the fact hate is recurrent does not mean it is permanent.
The themes explored could have easily made for a depressing read, but The Vanishing Half never was. It's funny, and warm, and concludes with a lasting note of optimism. The steady momentum that drives this book forwards builds to a trajectory that seems to continue beyond the final pages. Despite the tragedies that occur, the focus is on the future – the next generation, and all the change they can accomplish.
“She hadn't realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”