Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Review: Passing

Passing
By Nella Larsen
Penguin 1997, Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf 1929
114 pages
From the library

Passing

Irene Redfield is leading a calm and ordered life. She cares for her two sons and oversees the social obligations of her doctor husband. Irene has much lighter skin than her husband and occasionally passes for a white woman in order to make her day a bit easier. She is uncomfortable, however, when she runs into her childhood friend Clare and discovers that Clare passes everyday as the wife of a white man. Despite her discomfort, Irene and Clare's lives begin to intertwine with consequences that will change everything.

A great deal of this book obviously has to do with "passing," which was the term for light-skinned African Americans pretending to be white, either implicitly or explicitly. There were many levels of passing, as exemplified by Irene's occasional pretending in order to get a cab or go to certain restaurants and Clare's complete life change. Racism is still very evident in 1920s America, but it is not as overt among the upper class where Irene and her husband live.

Passing is a tiny novel. The action moves slowly as events happen in Irene's life and then she spends large portions of the book thinking about those moments and her reactions to them. This is a story where much of what is happening is happening in the silence of our character's minds. The writing almost has a dreamlike quality to it, which is compounded by Irene's unreliable narration. How much does she imagine and how much is real?

The great strength of this novel is that it is both specific and universal. It is about the particular injustice of racism, but it is about the incredibly common tragedy of wanting what we cannot have. It details the choices of Clare and Irene, but it will ring true for any reader who has made a difficult decision that they hoped would be the right one. Passing is one of those books you can read again and again. This slim novel will unearth new revelations each time as we see the tension between Irene and Clare's lives.

8 comments:

  1. I REALLY want to read this. The only other piece of literature I've read that deals with passing that comes immediately to mind is Boy, Snow, Bird and it didn't explore issues of passing enough for me. Other themes muddied that part up to the point that I was really frustrated. Definitely giving this classic a go!

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    1. I'm in the queue for that one. I adored her book Mr. Fox, but it seems like the reaction to Boy, Snow, Bird is less positive...:(

      I will be excited to see what you think of Passing!

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  2. This is a book that would work well for my book club.

    We read an unusual book called Passing Strange by Martha A. Sandweiss, about a white man who passed for black to be with the woman he loved and the children they shared -- a life entirely secret from his career.

    Joy's Book Blog

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    1. That sounds interesting. I will have to look it up.

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  3. Great review of this book! It's a book I wish more people knew about and read.

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    1. It was a book I had heard so much about. I can't believe it took me so long to read it!

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  4. "Passing" sounds like a fascinating glimpse into 1920s America. I had never heard of it before.

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    1. It's a really short read too, unlike some of the more intimidating classics!

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