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Raul's Reviews > Passing
Passing
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This book was published 90 years ago, during the Harlem Renaissance that brought with it great works of art, and this novel being one of them. Given the title and main theme of the book, I had some reservations before reading this, but what a pleasure and wealth of knowledge I would have missed had I bypassed it.
The story begins when Irene, the protagonist, remembers meeting her childhood friend Clare in her hometown of Chicago while passing in a restaurant meant for white people only. Both characters are biracial but their physical features allow them to venture into white society unsuspected, perceived and even received as white. But whereas Irene only passes for access to places like the theater and restaurants, Clare has totally immersed herself into white society going as far as marrying a racist white husband and having a child with him, and after meeting Irene, uses her as a contact to the blooming vibrant Black community of Harlem, trying to escape the stifling hateful environment she’s entrapped in, and meanwhile they have to be careful that her true racial identity is not known to Clare’s husband.
In engaging descriptive prose, Larsen writes of the environment that creates such precarious and demeaning conditions. Taking us to the vibrant Harlem parties of the 1920s and describing the social structure that defined status, security, desirability, and, at most times, survival. There’s a particular passage in this book where Clare explains that she won’t have another child for fear of the child being born dark and she would be found out to which Gertrude, another biracial childhood friend of Clare’s and Irene’s, remarks that no one really wants a dark child. There were times in the story I thought: “She won’t go there! She won’t…. She will…. She did!” There’s even a more disturbing passage after this where the three friends have to listen to demeaning racist vitriol coming from Clare’s husband and remain silent for Clare’s security.
I now understand why there’s so much study on this work, it even gave me one of the best descriptions of fetishistic desire I’ve ever read:
“I think that what they feel is—well, a kind of emotional excitement. You know, the sort of thing you feel in the presence of something strange, and even, perhaps, a bit repugnant to you; something so different that it’s really the opposite end of the pole from all your accustomed notions of beauty.”
A fantastic book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the writer’s work.
The story begins when Irene, the protagonist, remembers meeting her childhood friend Clare in her hometown of Chicago while passing in a restaurant meant for white people only. Both characters are biracial but their physical features allow them to venture into white society unsuspected, perceived and even received as white. But whereas Irene only passes for access to places like the theater and restaurants, Clare has totally immersed herself into white society going as far as marrying a racist white husband and having a child with him, and after meeting Irene, uses her as a contact to the blooming vibrant Black community of Harlem, trying to escape the stifling hateful environment she’s entrapped in, and meanwhile they have to be careful that her true racial identity is not known to Clare’s husband.
In engaging descriptive prose, Larsen writes of the environment that creates such precarious and demeaning conditions. Taking us to the vibrant Harlem parties of the 1920s and describing the social structure that defined status, security, desirability, and, at most times, survival. There’s a particular passage in this book where Clare explains that she won’t have another child for fear of the child being born dark and she would be found out to which Gertrude, another biracial childhood friend of Clare’s and Irene’s, remarks that no one really wants a dark child. There were times in the story I thought: “She won’t go there! She won’t…. She will…. She did!” There’s even a more disturbing passage after this where the three friends have to listen to demeaning racist vitriol coming from Clare’s husband and remain silent for Clare’s security.
I now understand why there’s so much study on this work, it even gave me one of the best descriptions of fetishistic desire I’ve ever read:
“I think that what they feel is—well, a kind of emotional excitement. You know, the sort of thing you feel in the presence of something strange, and even, perhaps, a bit repugnant to you; something so different that it’s really the opposite end of the pole from all your accustomed notions of beauty.”
A fantastic book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the writer’s work.
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Reading Progress
June 11, 2019
–
Started Reading
June 11, 2019
– Shelved
June 14, 2019
–
Finished Reading
October 16, 2022
– Shelved as:
favourites
May 23, 2024
– Shelved as:
owned-tracking
November 27, 2024
– Shelved as:
black-diaspora
Comments Showing 1-18 of 18 (18 new)
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Richard (on hiatus)
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Jun 14, 2019 02:50PM
A wonderful review Raul .........
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The interesting trivia about the author is that she stopped writing after this work because she was wrongly accused of plagiarism.
Dhanaraj wrote: "The interesting trivia about the author is that she stopped writing after this work because she was wrongly accused of plagiarism."
I did not know that that was why she stopped writing and what a shame!
I did not know that that was why she stopped writing and what a shame!
I first heard of this book early this year, yet suddenly it has come up a lot. I even have an ecopy (It was really cheap, maybe its's out of copyright?). Enjoyed your review.
Daniel wrote: "I first heard of this book early this year, yet suddenly it has come up a lot. I even have an ecopy (It was really cheap, maybe its's out of copyright?). Enjoyed your review."
Thank you, Daniel.
Thank you, Daniel.
Eva wrote: "Now it's been adapted to a film coming soon at Netflix"
I saw something about that Eva, I'll be looking forward to it.
I saw something about that Eva, I'll be looking forward to it.
Me: the Harlem Renaissance is one of my favourite periods of American hisory.
Also Me: doesn't know this book exists
Also Also Me: Finds you've read it and reviewed it.
You:...
Also Me: doesn't know this book exists
Also Also Me: Finds you've read it and reviewed it.
You:...
mwana wrote: "Me: the Harlem Renaissance is one of my favourite periods of American hisory.
Also Me: doesn't know this book exists
Also Also Me: Finds you've read it and reviewed it.
You:..."
Lol
Also Me: doesn't know this book exists
Also Also Me: Finds you've read it and reviewed it.
You:..."
Lol
I think of the racial issue as a human construct in order to dominate one over others, for all are the same species. Humans are just horrendous to treat each other based on so many scales of this scale of that. As Baldwin used to say, the black problem is a white men's problem, because it was not the black people who created it, but the white people did. Great review, Raul. I am a fan of yours, waiting for your books to be published!
Márcio wrote: "I think of the racial issue as a human construct in order to dominate one over others, for all are the same species. Humans are just horrendous to treat each other based on so many scales of this s..."
I agree Márcio, race is indeed a human construct. And Baldwin is right as I've found he always is. And thank you so much, Márcio. I truly appreciate your kind words.
I agree Márcio, race is indeed a human construct. And Baldwin is right as I've found he always is. And thank you so much, Márcio. I truly appreciate your kind words.