Winfield
Public Library Leads Discussion on The
Vanishing Half
All are welcome to join Winfield Public
Library on Monday, July 26th at 6:30pm at the library on the historical
fiction book The Vanishing Half by
Brit Bennett. Copies of The Vanishing Half are currently
available at WPL’s circulation desk. This book has a 4.23 rating on goodreads
and is 343 pages long.
The Vanishing Half is a New York Times
Bestseller and Bennett’s second book. It tells the story of the
Vignes identical twin sisters. After growing up together in a small, southern
black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of
their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families,
their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives
with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The
other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her
past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates
of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when
their own daughters’ storylines intersect? Weaving
together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South
to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that
is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of
the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The
Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a
person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the
multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as
something other than their origins.
This book meets July's 2021 Reading Challenge of a New York Times Bestseller! The Reading Challenge encourages everyone, no
matter what age, to read with us. Each month we encourage you to read any
book that fits into that month’s topic. Participate as you wish; take on one,
two, or all twelve challenges. No sign-up needed. If you wish, let us know that you met the
monthly challenge – either through Beanstack (an online
reader service through wpl.org) OR by dropping off a book review letting us
know the book you read and what you thought. Drop book reviews in our
red drop box. 2021 Reading Challenge
topics are: January: a Book
with at Least a 4-star Rating on goodreads; February: a Humorous Fiction Book; March: a Debut Novel; April:
a Book Made into a Movie; May:
a Book Recommended by a Friend; June:
a Book about Immigrants; July:
a NYT Bestseller; August: a
Cookbook or Book with Food; September:
a Book by a Hispanic Author; October:
a Book with a Strong Female Lead; November:
a Book that “Everyone” has Read Except for You; and December: a Book Recommended by a Librarian.
For
information on this or any of WPL’s other programs, including our Summer
Reading Program, hotspot or ereader check-out, storytimes in the park, board
game check-out, Grab & Go crafts for all ages, book sales, or more, visit
wpl.org or call 620-221-4470. 