A few weeks ago I read Nella Larsen's Passing, a very short novel (novella?) about race and identity in 1920s America. This was the Netflix book club pick for October because this week the movie version released on Netflix. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, and I think I might like it better than the book. Here's why.
Some of the language in the book was very old-fashioned - I mean, it was written in 1929 - and my modern-day mind had trouble following. There were also a few references to things that I didn't understand, either because I am not black or because I didn't grow up in the 1920s. (Probably both.) So I hope that the movie makes the story more accessible.
But basically, the story follows two women. Irene lives in New York with her husband and two sons. Her family lives openly as black, even though Irene is light enough to pass in certain situations. That's how she comes to have lunch with an old friend named Clare in Chicago. Clare is "passing". In fact, she's even married to a white man - a white man who doesn't know his wife's secret, a white very racist man.
Irene thinks Clare is being reckless, especially considering that Clare has a child, so when a few years later Clare tries to contact Irene in New York and become part of Irene's black community, Irene is resistant to let Clare in. But, as usual, Clare always gets what she wants with no thought to how it might affect other people, including Irene's family.
This would be a great book to discuss in a book club, and it's certainly made me want to know more about the author. My version of the book had an introduction by Christa Holm Vogelius that included some background information on Larsen, but I'd still love to find a biography or something that went deeper into her life. If you know of one, please let me know!
Passing is published by Signet and was originally published in 1929. It's now a Netflix movie starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.
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