book review : vanishing half
Genre: Historical Fiction Reading age: 13+ Rating: 7/10 You’ll like this if you’ve read: Remembered by Yvonne Battle-Felton Since Barack Obama said Vanishing Half was one of his favourite books, I’ve had my eye on the story of the Vignes twins and when I finally entered their world, I wasn’t disappointed. It was refreshing to read a historical fiction about race in America that didn’t feel too familiar to me. Although we’re all very aware of the context in which these characters lived, it was interesting to learn about the act of passing over which I hadn’t come across much before. The story touches on various depths of race struggles post slavery, most notably colourism existing within black communities. In a small Louisianan town called Mallard, all its residents have fair skin, and the town remains that way as the town people only mix with other light skinned black people. The main storyline follows the lives of twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes who grew up in this town, traum