#33 The Vanishing Half and Pachinko

I have two books to tell you about this week and while both are/were National Book Award contenders, neither come with a resounding recommendation from me. Both were page turners and both have characters struggling to break free of who they are to forge a new identity where they can find more acceptance.
The first is called The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. It’s about twin Black girls from Louisiana who separate as teenagers and go on to live very different lives. One lives as a Black woman and ends up back in the southern hometown she ran away from as a teenager and the other passes as a White woman living a life of privilege in California. It was published in June and immediately went on several “best of 2020” lists. It was our September book club pick so I read it while on vacation in Jackson Hole.

When it ended, I set it aside and my first thought was “WHERE IS THE RESOLUTION?!” If you’ve ever heard a dissonant piano chord, it’s very unsettling. But, your experience tells you that most dissonant chords resolve back to a pleasing consonant sound. For me, The Vanishing Half created dissonant sounds with nearly every character, which was fine while I was reading. Everyone’s individual drama and identity angst intrigued me and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. But then nothing resolves and you’re left hanging and wondering what will become of everyone.

I’m probably being too hard on it. It has some powerful themes about creating a new and more advantageous identity and fighting off the imposter syndrome that comes along with posing as a member of a group that would otherwise exclude you. The constant pull of who you really are and where you came from creates serious internal conflict. That is all done well. So while I won’t enthusiastically recommend it, there are thousands of people on Amazon and Goodreads who disagree with me. Check out their reviews before making your decision.
The other book I want to talk about briefly is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Wow this book is beautifully written and really packs an emotional gut punch. It is rich in detail both in character and in setting. I found myself quite invested in the characters and had several people to root for. It takes place mostly in Japan and follows multiple generations of Korean immigrants. I didn’t realize the history between Korea and Japan and how the Japanese “put up with” Koreans, didn’t want them in their country, and went to great lengths to make their lives more difficult. As in The Vanishing Half, the difficulties associated with abandoning a disadvantageous identity is explored and I’d argue Pachinko does it better and more thoroughly. I really had a hard time with the idea that you can carry a stain of dishonor your entire life by no fault of your own. While that doesn’t jive with my personal beliefs, it was good for me to gain some perspective into other cultures where that idea is very real.

Ok folks, that’s it for this week. Keep reading and please let me know of any good books you’ve discovered!
Kyle