Nella Larsen | Books & Literature » Fiction
Passing
Recommended By
Published in 1929, it tells the story of two mixed-race friends, Irene and Clare, and the paths they take through adulthood, with Clare passing as white and married to a wealthy white man. The book prompts reflections on racial identity.
Nella Larsen's powerful, thrilling, and tragic tale about the fluidity of racial identity that continues to resonate today. Clare Kendry is living on the edge. Light-skinned, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a racist white man unaware of her African American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past after deciding to “pass” as a white woman. Clare’s childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, and is simultaneously allured and repelled by Clare’s risky decision to engage in racial masquerade for personal and societal gain.