First published in 1929, Larsen's brilliant examination of the various ways in which we all seek to "pass," is as timely as ever.
A tale of two childhood friends reunited in adulthood: one lives a normal, middle-class family life, the other lives fully immersed in the luxuries of whiteness; both of them Black women. On its surface, Passing is about the desire to break free of one’s own confinement, but underneath, it’s about the haunting alienation of leading a double life.
Passing by Nella Larsen is our second book club selection for 2023. Let’s meet virtually on Thursday, March 9 at 6pm PT.
Synopsis: Irene is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past – even hiding the truth from her racist husband. Clare finds herself drawn to Irene's sense of ease and security with her Black identity and longs for the community (and, increasingly, the woman) she lost. Irene is both riveted and repulsed by Clare and her dangerous secret, as Clare begins to insert herself – and her deception – into every part of Irene's stable existence.