ŷ������

5* - I'm giving this five stars because this short book surprised and delighted me. I didn't have expectations beyond the social issues promised by the title, which I had given very little thought to previously and hadn't read about in fiction or otherwise to any extent. The matter of fact way the context and reality were framed made it all more troubling to process the racism being endured and its impacts. The scene with John (Clare's husband) where he boldly demonstrates his stark racism to the table of 'passing' women was particularly striking. Irene is a complex, unreliable narrator and not at all straightforward. he ending, seemingly sudden and bold, was set up beautifully in retrospect. Such an interesting, tidy package of a story loaded with so much to take away.

Set in the 20’s during a time when the races began mixing a bit more publicly, Passing follows the lives, social perils, and personal risks faced by those passing as white in the mixing society. This short story didn’t end at all the way I anticipated, but the views and overlaps of the various characters were very well done and the views of those living as white, verses those who passed on occasion for convenience, and those living their ‘birth race�� lives were very well defined and the dangers of crossing paths explored.

4/5 stars

Passing by Nella Larsen
4 stars

A short book about two African-American women with very different opinions about passing as white. Irene finds it convenient sometimes, but she lives with her African-American husband and is open about her heritage. Claire has married a white man and as far as he knows she is pure white. When chance brings the two former school friends together again, their friendship threatens to expose Claire's lie, but Irene also stands to lose. A very interesting look at how race defined (African-American) women's lives in the US during the 1920s.

Great book, quick read. Passing is the story of two women who are black and grew up as childhood friends in Chicago. It was published in 1929 and is set in Harlem Renaissance period, a period covering from 1918 to 1930 and is a time period of black culture/art. It did not just occur in Harlem New York but that might be the largest setting. This is a story of race and choices. One girl chose to escape her culture and married a white man and did not tell him. The other girl, Irene, married within her race and it is her story as well. There is a third choice but that girl only has a small part in the book. She married white but he knew she was black. That is just one layer of this great book.

Passing is not the first book to be written about Passing; not the first book to examine Passing, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The Father of Désirée's Baby, The Garies and Their Friends but this book does offer a inventive approach and fresh ideas to the topic, showing how even though one married black and lived as black she was still creating her own fiction.

The story is great with an interesting conclusion. I guess I didn't see that coming but when it was done, I also was not surprised. And the ending remains ambiguous, IMO. The characters are great. It is highly readable.

Achievement: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition), Guardian 1000 (State of the nation), 500 Great Books by Women (Choices), David Bowie's Top 100 (1929).

The book is told from Irene's POV and some is her stream of conscious and some her interactions.

Rating: 4.17

I did not see that ending coming.

This is a great book - the way the fear of Clare being caught passing mirrors the fear of Irene’s that her husband might leave and take off for Brazil and perhaps even the fear of Brian’s that he’ll be caught having an affair or Irene’s that there is an affair... I really loved how that is all set up. Jack was such a horrible character and it was interesting to see the issue of passing examined from someone who could pass and did, just not socially as she says. It’s not an issue I’ve seen come up often in literature before. I look forward to reading more of Larsen.

Passing by Nella Larsen
4/5 stars

This was a fascinating look at race. In 1920s, childhood friends Irene and Clare re-connect after many years in Harlem. They catch-up on marriage and their children. Clare confides that she hides a dark secret, she is 'passing' as white. Even though this was a short book I felt that I got to know Clare and Irene well. As their past is told it really put perspective to the story.

“You know, 'Rene, I've often wondered why more coloured girls, girls like you and Margaret Hammer and Ester Dawson and �� oh, lots of others �� never 'passed' over. It's such a frightfully easy thing to do. If one's the type, all that's needed is a little nerve.��

“It's funny about 'passing.' We disapprove of it and at the same time condone it. It excites our contempt and yet we rather admire it. We shy away from it with an odd kind of revulsion, but we protect it.��

“But Clare, it was plain, had shut away reason as well as caution. She shook her head. “I can't, I can't,�� she said. “I would if I could, but I can't. You don't know, you can't realize how I want to see Negroes, to be with them again, to talk with them to hear them laugh.��

***1/2

A short story about two light-skinned black women in the 1920s, one still remaining proud of her black heritage, the other choosing to 'pass' as a white woman in order to get married to a well-off white man, who happens also to be extremely racist. This was an eye-opener for me, as I have never heard or read about such behavior as 'passing', at least for light-skinned black people ('passing' was a survival skill during the Holocaust). Even though more than 150 years have now passed since the abolition of slavery in the United States, I presume there might still be some people who are trying to 'pass' for something else, but I am wondering: why? True, racism still hasn't disappeared, but it is probably much better than it was at the time of the novel; one wouldn't necessarily need to 'pass' to gain higher status these days. Besides, I personally believe one should always have some pride about their origins. The novel was pretty easy to read and the end, while surprising and abrupt, was somewhat predictable or, at least, it was clear that Clare's 'passing' situation would ultimately lead to a tragic impasse.

This was a really fascinating short novel. The plot is intriguing and the characters complex, and the insights into race relations in America almost 100 years ago are still relevant today. The Norton Critical Edition has a wealth of fascinating documents, including excerpts from stories and novels dealing with passing and mixed race characters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

"It was, she cried silently, enough to suffer as a woman, as an individual, on one's own account, without having to suffer for the race as well."