Twin sisters choose different paths in life. Desiree and Stella are born into a "light-skinned" African American community. Their father is lynched and murdered in front of them and when they reach adulthood, they strike out for New Orleans and a different life. Stella discovers she can "pass" as white and deserts her sister to marry her boss at a marketing firm and lives with her blond, blue-eyed daughter in fear of being discovered. Desiree marries an abusive man and leaves him to return to her hometown where her very dark-skinned daughter faces prejudice. This is a story of lives I've never thought about, much less experienced. The story challenged my thinking about what stories I've read my whole life and the authors I've chosen and the perspectives I've been exposed to. The writing is compelling. It's a story like none I have ever read and yet like the best fiction I've read. Highly recommended.
Quotes:
"The hardest part about becoming someone else was deciding to. The rest was only logistics."
"...her grandmother would not be sitting on the porch to greet them. Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same."
Published: 2020 Read: April 2021 Genre: Fiction
