The Vanishing Half Shortlisted for the Women's Prize 2021

Ich kann das Buch wirklich nur empfehlen! Es liest sich wie von selbst und regt zum Nachdenken an. Erfrischend und überraschend - allzu oft hätte ich einen anderen Ausgang erwartet.

It was a solid and fun read. The blurb and the string of accolades the book has received promised quite a bit that the book only partially delivered on. The theme of identical twins choosing different lives across color lines is too complicated, aspects of which I thought were dealt with in a rather perfunctory way. How the twins grow up and form their personalities and how they diverge ostensibly contrary to their personalities was worked out well I thought, but then the novel focuses a little bit too much on certain aspects of the twins' lives to the detriment of everything else: Stella on living lies, especially with regards to her daughter; Desiree on a sense of loss. Each of the main characters, i.e. the twins, their parents, and their daughters are very sophisticated by definition, yet only certain aspects of their characters were played out in the novel. The denouement in particular was a bit rushed after dragging on with the denials by Stella without going deep into her mental struggles or giving the reader the space to appreciate it. All in all, a fun read, though.

A stunning and thought-provoking novel that explores race, identity, and family. The story follows twin sisters who grow up in a small, segregated Southern town, and whose lives take dramatically different paths. Bennett's writing is evocative and powerful, and her characters are fully realized and complex. The themes of passing and colorism are handled with great care and sensitivity, and the novel offers a nuanced and insightful commentary on the legacy of racism in America. "The Vanishing Half" is a beautifully crafted and deeply affecting novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Das Buch handelt von zwillings Schwestern, die sich mit der Zeit aus den Augen verlieren. Wie es in den USA üblich ist, reisen sie von zuhause weg. Und eine Schwester, Désirée, sucht nach einger Zeit, Ihre Schwester, Stella, ohne sie zu finden. Erst nach längerem findet die Tochter von Désirée, Jude, Stella, die ein völlig neues Leben führt. - Die Autorin Bennett, eine dunkle Frau, tönt stets die Diskrimimierung der Schwarzen in den USA an. Ich fand das Buch zu lang und das Thema zu breit ausgeschlachtet; auf 150 anstatt 340 Seiten hätte man das Thema interessant abhandeln können. Es gehört zwar zu den New York Times Bestsellern, ist aber nicht unbedingt empfehlenswert.