Who recommended The Vanishing Half?

7 people have recommended The Vanishing Half in the interviews, articles and reading lists we track, including Barack Obama, Gretchen Rubin, Jack Edwards and Melinda Gates. Each name links to their full reading list.

Is The Vanishing Half worth reading?

7 people we track recommend it. It is best for: a book-club organizer leading a scheduled discussion on race and family who needs a readable, provocative novel to prompt conversation about identity and choices; a graduate student teaching an undergraduate seminar on contemporary American fiction looking for a narrative that introduces themes of passing and intergenerational trauma in accessible prose; a reader who enjoys long, character-driven weekend reads (e.g., someone with two free afternoons) who wants emotionally charged scenes and moral dilemmas rather than a twist-heavy plot. It may not suit: you'll likely put it down when the narrative keeps jumping years and viewpoints and the forward momentum stalls; if you want a propulsive, plot-first novel, this will frustrate you; annoying if you prefer spare, minimalist prose—this is more lyrical and emotionally warm, sometimes tipping into melodrama; not a fit if you want clear-cut moral answers or tidy resolutions; the novel leaves many choices ambiguous and emotionally unresolved.

What books are like The Vanishing Half?

Readers of The Vanishing Half also turn to The Pillars of the Earth, 11/22/63 and The Tiger's Wife, based on the lists and recommenders these books share.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: Recommended by 7 People

Name: The Vanishing Half
Author: Brit Bennett

From The New York Times bestselling author of The Mothers , a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and From The New York...