Try Nella Larsen’s novel Passing— adapted into an Academy Award–nominated film by Rebecca Hall in 2021—which explores a similar premise and themes.
So many of us have read The Vanishing Half, the story of Stella Vignes, who abandons her identical twin sister, Desiree, to move to Los Angeles and start a new life as a white woman. Looking for a follow-up? Try Nella Larsen’s novel Passing— adapted into an Academy Award–nominated film by Rebecca Hall in 2021—which explores a similar premise and themes. Living in Harlem during the Jazz Age , the main character, Irene, runs into her old childhood friend Clare. While Irene, a light-skinned Black woman, occasionally passes as white when she needs to, Clare passes all the time. More confusingly, she’s married to a vehement racist. How their lives collide makes for a riveting, thought-provoking read.