Listen free for 30 days
-
The Vanishing Half
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £19.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
-
-
Loved
- By MISS C MILLER on 13-11-21
-
Shuggie Bain
- By: Douglas Stuart
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest.
-
-
Utter respect
- By KMV on 02-09-20
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant Nobel-prize-nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
-
I laughed and cried. A masterpiece.
- By Nicola on 21-04-22
-
The Paper Palace
- The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick
- By: Miranda Cowley Heller
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below 'The Paper Palace'—her family's holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside.... So begins a story that unfolds over 24 hours and 50 years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision—and an ending you won't be able to stop thinking about.
-
-
Don’t waste your life
- By S. Maguire on 10-08-21
-
American Dirt
- By: Jeanine Cummins
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop. Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist. Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world. Today, her eight-year-old son Luca is all she has left. For him, she will carry a machete strapped to her leg. For him, she will leap onto the roof of a high speed train. For him, she will find the strength to keep running.
-
-
One of the best audio books I’ve listened to.
- By Mrs on 24-01-20
-
The Girl with the Louding Voice
- By: Abi Daré
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
14-year-old Adunni has a dream: to be educated. But her father needs her bride-price, so sells his daughter to an older man, who demands she give him the fine boy-children his first two wives have failed to produce. When things go tragically wrong, Adunni flees to Lagos. It's what she has always wanted, to leave Ikati and see the world, and though her heart is full of sorrow for her lost family and the shame she has left behind, still Adunni will not be quiet and do as she's told.
-
-
Uplifting Story
- By O. on 22-03-20
-
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
-
-
Loved
- By MISS C MILLER on 13-11-21
-
Shuggie Bain
- By: Douglas Stuart
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest.
-
-
Utter respect
- By KMV on 02-09-20
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant Nobel-prize-nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
-
I laughed and cried. A masterpiece.
- By Nicola on 21-04-22
-
The Paper Palace
- The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick
- By: Miranda Cowley Heller
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below 'The Paper Palace'—her family's holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside.... So begins a story that unfolds over 24 hours and 50 years, as Elle's shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision—and an ending you won't be able to stop thinking about.
-
-
Don’t waste your life
- By S. Maguire on 10-08-21
-
American Dirt
- By: Jeanine Cummins
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop. Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist. Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world. Today, her eight-year-old son Luca is all she has left. For him, she will carry a machete strapped to her leg. For him, she will leap onto the roof of a high speed train. For him, she will find the strength to keep running.
-
-
One of the best audio books I’ve listened to.
- By Mrs on 24-01-20
-
The Girl with the Louding Voice
- By: Abi Daré
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
14-year-old Adunni has a dream: to be educated. But her father needs her bride-price, so sells his daughter to an older man, who demands she give him the fine boy-children his first two wives have failed to produce. When things go tragically wrong, Adunni flees to Lagos. It's what she has always wanted, to leave Ikati and see the world, and though her heart is full of sorrow for her lost family and the shame she has left behind, still Adunni will not be quiet and do as she's told.
-
-
Uplifting Story
- By O. on 22-03-20
-
The Promise
- By: Damon Galgut
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The many voices of The Promise tell a story in four snapshots, each one centered on a family funeral, each one happening in a different decade. In the background, a different president is in power, and a different spirit hangs over the country, while in the foreground the family fights over what they call their farm, on a worthless piece of land outside Pretoria. Over large jumps in time, people get older, faces and laws and lives all change, while a brother and sister circle around a promise made long ago and never kept....
-
-
Difficult experience
- By #carylreads on 23-07-21
-
Sorrow and Bliss
- By: Meg Mason
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful, a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man, her husband Patrick. So why is everything broken? Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless, practically jobless and so often sad? And why did Patrick decide to leave? Maybe she is just too sensitive, someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people. Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her.
-
-
depressing and pointless
- By Anonymous User on 23-10-21
-
Homegoing
- By: Yaa Gyasi
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, narrated by Dominic Hoffman.
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery, one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow.
-
-
One of the most beautiful books I've ever read
- By Melanie MacNeill on 13-02-17
-
Small Pleasures
- By: Clare Chambers
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and - on the brink of 40 - living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys.
-
-
Poignant, thoughtful & beautifully crafted
- By Rachel Redford on 26-07-20
-
Girl, Woman, Other
- By: Bernardine Evaristo
- Narrated by: Anna-Maria Nabirye
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the 20th century to the teens of the 21st, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of 12 characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope....
-
-
Good story but distracting narration
- By Booklover on 21-11-19
-
Malibu Rising
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malibu: August, 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.
-
-
Not for me
- By Handryer on 01-06-22
-
Such a Fun Age
- By: Kiley Reid
- Narrated by: Nicole Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other and the messy dynamics of privilege.
-
-
doesn't live up to the hype
- By Tsundoko and Tea on 10-01-20
-
Hamnet
- Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 - the No. 1 Bestseller
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Daisy Donovan
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home? Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.
-
-
Narrator fights writing and wins (sadly)
- By Leaf Green on 20-07-20
-
The Arsonists' City
- By: Hala Alyan
- Narrated by: Leila Buck
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nasr family is spread across the globe - Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. A Syrian mother, a Lebanese father, and three American children: all have lived a life of migration. Still, they’ve always had their ancestral home in Beirut - a constant touchstone - and the complicated, messy family love that binds them. But following his father's recent death, Idris, the family's new patriarch, has decided to sell. The decision brings the family to Beirut, where everyone unites against Idris in a fight to save the house.
-
The Kindest Lie
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Johnson
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 2008, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He’s eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to—and was forced to leave behind—when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she’d never look back, but Ruth knows that she must make peace with the past. Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair.
-
The Daughters of Erietown
- A Novel
- By: Connie Schultz
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1957, Clayton Valley, Ohio. Ellie has the best grades in her class. Her dream is to go to nursing school and marry Brick McGinty. A basketball star, Brick has the chance to escape his abusive father and become the first person in his blue-collar family to attend college. But when Ellie learns that she is pregnant, everything changes. Just as Brick and Ellie revise their plans and build a family, a knock on the front door threatens to destroy their lives.
-
Transcendent Kingdom
- By: Yaa Gyasi
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child Gifty would ask her parents to tell the story of their journey from Ghana to Alabama, seeking escape in myths of heroism and romance. When her father and brother succumb to the hard reality of immigrant life in the American South, their family of four becomes two - and the life Gifty dreamed of slips away. Years later, desperate to understand the opioid addiction that destroyed her brother's life, she turns to science for answers. But when her mother comes to stay, Gifty soon learns that the roots of their tangled traumas reach farther than she ever thought.
-
-
Beautiful, thought-provoking, educational
- By Steph on 01-10-20
Summary
Sunday Times best seller.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize 2021.
Longlisted for the National Book Award.
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern black community and running away at age 16, 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.
Ten 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' story lines 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.
Critic reviews
"A writer to watch." (Washington Post)
"The Vanishing Half is an utterly mesmerising novel. It seduces with its literary flair, surprises with its breath-taking plot twists, delights with its psychological insights, and challenges us to consider the corrupting consequences of racism on different communities and individual lives. I absolutely loved this book." (Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize 2019)
"Bennett allows her characters to follow their worst impulses, and she handles provocative issues with intelligence, empathy and dark humour." (New York Times )
More from the same
What listeners say about The Vanishing Half
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steph
- 23-06-20
An Important Read
Where to begin with this book? There are so many angles and themes that you could take this from... It has an intriguing opening - a bit like a 'what if' scenario - an unmarked town full of light skinned people who think of themselves as superior to other black people. Then a set of twins, who slip off into the night one summer, leaving no trace. Only for one twin to return as suddenly as she left, followed by a little dark skinned girl...
The multi-generational story really dives into the details of prejudice, systemic racism and most importantly, the often overlooked issue of colorism. It also looks at families, contains complex mother-daughter relationships and in a very understated way also looks at the effect of broken homes and the importance of the father.
The story is fictional but is plotted against important historic events in American history. This framing means that it is realistic, but with a slight displacement that stops it feeling as raw or uncomfortable as some may otherwise have found it. This is with the exception of one violent scene that really saddened me but even this (like most of the harsher scenes in the book) was softened around the edges by being recalled as a memory . It also makes unfamiliar topics completely accessible to anyone through quality story telling (there are two in particular that I have in mind, one is colorism but I don't want to spoil the second for anyone else).
Pacing wise, I found it occasionally a bit slow for my liking, especially towards the end, but there was great tension. If you are the type who likes explosive scenes then you will not find much joy here. The storyline doesn't really carry a shock factor in terms of twists and turns but it certainly takes you by the hand and really makes you think and reflect and savour the range of emotion it induces - it uses your own understandings about family to penetrate your depths.
This is a book that demands attention - I listened to this on Audible and there are several time jumps that are woven together masterfully - you cannot skim read or listen while half concentrated on something else. If your mind wanders for a second, you will find yourself lost. It is worth every drop of your attention though. The reader did a great job too. I usually have to have the ebook in front of me whilst I read or I lose focus but I found myself engaged even though I didn't get the ebook this time.
The ending was satisfying and unhurried too. It was realistic - not so neat and perfect that it felt silly but it still felt complete. I would highly recommend this book, whichever format you choose to read it in.
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- emily uk
- 31-08-20
Great booked ruined by narrator
This is SUCH a good story, but the narration kills it I'm afraid.
I'm going to buy a physical copy to read and cleanse my brain of the irritation, because every time I think of the story or hear the author's name or the book title, I feel tense. The whole way through listening I felt tense. Couldn't fully relax end enjoy it.
This is an important book, as well as being a terrific story. It deserves much better.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sigrin
- 24-09-20
Powerful story written with a tenderness.
I Chose this books on the reviews and it certainly lived up to it high star rating. The summary tells everything you need to know about the book, so I will not bore you with a repetition.
The story needs your complete attention as there is so many small details that are important and make the whole a sum if it’s parts. The exploration of black and white, mother daughter relationship, living in isolation, rich and poor, growing up in a fatherless house are beautiful and sensitively told but also in a no holds bare way too.
My only criticism of this book is the narrator. Personally I have never been a fan of American narrators and unfortunately Shyna Small just did not deliver this book in a way that I really could connect with it. It was almost that she was trying too hard. Personally I would suggest the exceptional voice of Bahni Turpin to narrate.
Despite the criticism as it’s a personal thing, I would highly recommend this book.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah Rayner, author
- 04-08-20
Beautifully written and brilliantly read
This is a stunning novel. The blurb details the premise but narrative is more sweeping and ambitious than it suggests: the author - and narrator - deftly switch characters and across timelines to explore big subjects (race, what makes us who we are, family ties and lost connections and gender). It’s especially prescient in the wake of BLM (but given the speed of the publishing industry must have been written long before the current movement to be out now). One of my favourite books on audio so far. Do listen - it’s a real ‘grower’ and I resoundingly recommend it.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KK
- 02-08-20
Had potential but never achieved it
enjoyed the premise of this story very much and it held alot of promise, but unfortunately it did not deliver for me. the start was great, alot of background information and developing of the story, but then midway through for me it lost it's way and never came back. I found the jumping around in years to different characters storyline confusing and hard to follow and I think this spoiled the usual enjoyment of the build up to the end. when the end came it was too quick and left a lot of loose ends. I felt quite let down, it didn't really tie anything up and I think the rushed ending meant that some of the story felt unbelievable. It was a shame as I think the story had a lot of potential.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- V. O'Regan
- 12-06-20
A powerful story
This was an excellent novel that explored some sensitive issues in an open way. All round excellent
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 18-08-21
Not one for me.
Struggled to finish this book. While the themes were familiar and narration was very good, despite not being able to tell the difference between characters at times, the pacing and the back and forth between sides of each story was just too much to keep my interest.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- amy singleton
- 17-08-21
very slow read but good overall story
I enjoyed the overall story but I did think the author dragged out the story at times. you could cut out a lot of the book and it would be the same story and be as good.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Adam Plant
- 10-07-21
unable to follow the story
maybe better as a book.
but the audio book format for this book just doesn't work.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steph Baines
- 04-06-21
Good, but not exceptional
A well-written narrative, interesting plot line and well performed. But beyond the interesting initial premise and some well rounded characters there wasn't much to grip me.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- parve
- 16-03-21
Poignant
The statement that stood out for me..to be white is to be able to choose. Spoke to so many issues about privilege and how it differentiates us all. Sometimes we are searching even if we don’t know that we are..a restlessness can carry across generations..so much depth too about how the words around us; spoken and unspoken can impact our life journeys. I grew to love the book..so glad I read it!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 10-08-21
The Lies We Tell Ourselves
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A beautiful book that looks at how we sell our souls in order to achieve what we consider dear. Having reached our goals however, we then look back and see what this has cost us. I would highly recommend this. It is food for reflection.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Winnie Rugutt-Chebon
- 26-07-21
An all-around, lovely piece of art
An interesting fictional story of the lives of twins girls who grow up and decide to live two different lives. Some of the themes that come out in the book
Racism and how it felt to be black in the 1930s to 1980s in the US
Transgender lives and realities
The human urge to identify or be identified to a group
The different shades of love and marriage
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- SarahH
- 02-06-21
Absolutely stunning
This book is beautifully written and completely captivating. It tells the story of twin black girls whose skin is very light. When they run away for a new start, one continues life as a black girl while the other is mistaken for a white girl and so the two live lives on separate sides of the colour divide in 60s America. When they themselves have daughters the difference in skin colour and lives widens further until their lives accidentally intersect. It’s about lies and secrets, but also love and new starts. It is stunningly beautiful.
Shayna Hall narrates this book brilliantly. She brings the characters and the times to life. Lovely voice to listen to
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 19-01-21
Loved it
I enjoyed the narrator very much. The story was great. I gasped a few times especially the encounters between the twins' daughters and between Jude and Stella.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- verity
- 30-10-20
a good tale, well read
a different story, creative and vast. a deeper message about life and progression embedded in tale that's interesting even on its own. narrator's voice felt a little grating at first but soon enough became easy to listen to.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Chantal V
- 05-07-20
Excellent Read
Captivating story and eloquently read by voice artist. Imagery easily painted in the reader’s mind
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Janice
- 14-06-20
A superbly written and narrated novel.
The Vanishing Half is one of the most thought provoking novels I’ve listened to in a very long time. At this point in history I think it’s a must read/listen. It is a beautifully written story that left this reader deeply moved. It is at times heartbreaking, but it also leaves you hopeful given the strength and resilience of its characters. This story will stay with me always.
The narration was superb.
Highly recommended