#Novella Passing

• Author: Nella Larsen (1891-1964)
• Title:  Passing
• Published: 1929 (176 pg)
  
• Genre: novella
• Monthly plan
• #ReadDiversely

Quick scan:

1. Irene Redfield, a light-skinned African American woman
2. …prominent member of the Harlem community,
3. receives a letter from an old friend named Clare Kendry.
4. Clare is light-skinned, but, unlike Irene,
5. …Clare has decided to pass as white
6. …and to make matters more complicated
7. …is married to a wealthy racist white man.
8. Their reunion is tense.

Conclusion:

1. Larsen’s works are often classified as “uplift novels,”
2. the purpose of which was to persuade educated white readers
3. that the black middle class was, in fact, not unlike them.
4. There was no need to discriminate against such obviously civilized people.
5. There are  many kinds of secrets,
6. …from unspoken feelings and
7. …quiet anxieties to hushed-up affairs in this small book!
8. This novella is absolutely worth your reading time
9. ….3 hrs and you have finished 176 pg of excellent writing!
10. Strong point: Love the small twist
11. …Ms Larsen bookends her novella ( part 1 ch 1 -> part 4 ch 4)
12. See if you can discover how she did it!
13. Now…time to watch the Netflix version of “Passing” (2021)
14. with Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga