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Passing

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Passing

By: Nella Larsen
Narrated by: Tessa Thompson
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About this listen

Light-skinned Black woman Irene Redfield encounters an old childhood friend - Clare - who is now "passing" as a White woman. Clare is married to a racist White man, who doesn't know she has African American blood. In spite of the danger of being found out by her husband and society at large, she finds herself helplessly drawn to Irene's world....

Passing is a fascinating listening experience on many simultaneous levels.

©1929 Nella Larsen (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
African American Classics Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Fiction Heartfelt
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What listeners say about Passing

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating tale

A good listen, short but fascinating tale of life in those times. Good narration transported me into that world.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting themes

It definitely had The Great American Novel feel to it and it's probably a book very much of its time. Whilst it explored some very fascinating and important themes, it felt slightly under-developed. I did not really get a feel of what it was like (practically and psychologically) to pass - the impact of living that lie on a daily basis. Perhaps a missed opportunity.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautifully-written and -performed

A really engrossing story, beautifully written with a luminous quality. A subtle and fascinating story exploring ideas of race and identity. A warm, atmospheric performance by Tessa Thompson.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Was really good performance by tessa and good timely story about white passing , race issues that are still relevant today and social structures .

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely quick read

A take of racism and passing in Harlem in the early 20th century. Eye opening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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tessa thompson.. wow

fantastic story by Nella Larsen and fantastic narration by tessa thompson. i want to listen to it again.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Unique and emotional story

I loved Tessa’s narration and the story was simple but had depth and emotion. Gets you thinking

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great writing and narration

Tessa Thompson's narration was great! I loved the writing and the story was thought-provoking.

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Give it a go.

Short story and worth the listen. Well read and written in my opinion. Also a film.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Race, class and jealousy in 1920s Harlem

I have recently watched the Netflix film that is based on this 1929 book by Nella Larsen, It is certainly an eye opening story as I have not come across the idea of "passing" before. Listening to the audio version of this book after the film struck me how close Rebecca Hall's film adaptation is to the original story including some narrative that is lifted directly from the book. If anything, however, the Netflix film is less shocking as it has some of the disturbing racial language edited out. This is a powerful story that tackles themes including race, class and jealousy and leaves the listener wondering if we really have progressed at all in the past century.

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2 people found this helpful