This Week's Read: Passing by Nella Larsen

It was the last letter in Irene Redfield's little pile of morning mail. After her other ordinary and clearly directed letters the long envelope of thin Italian paper with its almost illegible scrawl seemed out of place and alien. And there was, too, something mysterious and slightly furtive about it. A thin sly thing which bore no return address to betray the sender. Not that she hadn't immediately known who its sender was. Some two years ago she had one very like it in outward appearance. Furtive, but in some peculiar, determined way a little flaunting. Purple ink. Foreign paper of extraordinary size.

Passing
by Nella Larsen

Here's another book that's been on my wish list for years. My reason for picking it up now? The podcast Novel Pairings - a podcast dedicated to "making the classics readable, relevant, and fun" - will discuss it on their next episode. An interesting feature of each podcast episode is the pairing of a classic with contemporary novels with similar themes. I have a feeling they'll be pairing Passing with Britt Bennett's new novel The Vanishing Half... which I plan to read shortly.

This classic from the Harlem Renaissance is described as "an electrifying story of two women who cross the color line in 1920s New York." I'm halfway through this short novel and wondering why I've waited so long.

What do you think? Would you continue reading?