RaveThe Women\'s Review of BooksAt a moment when our nation’s racial tension is bubbling over, The Vanishing Half is a timely commentary on race, identity, and performance ... Breaking from traditional racial passing novels which mount anticipation around the revelation of passing characters’ true racial identities, Bennett rather centered Stella’s experience wrestling with her identity and navigating whiteness without the constant fear and consequence of disclosure. This, perhaps, is an all the more accurate narrative of passing in America ... The gem that arises from The Vanishing Half is its indictment of white fragility ... Through her illustration of the Vignes twins’ hometown of Mallard and the experiences of Jude, Bennett deftly explores anti-Blackness ... What I loved most about Reese was Bennett’s thoughtful and refreshing decision to not essentialize or fetishize him. So often in literature and media, queer characters are used for straight readers’ discovery, understanding or unlearning, thus implicitly upholding heteronormativity. Yet, in The Vanishing Half, Reese is simply allowed to be who he is, without explanation, justification or questioning ... On the surface, The Vanishing Halff is a story of passing, identity, colorism, and unearthing family secrets, but it’s also so much more. It’s a journey in forgetting and forgiveness, a battle of revenge and redemption, and a reimagining of the construction of categories.
