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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 Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Fiction Heartfelt

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

Great

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

Lovely quick read

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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.

Interesting themes

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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.

Beautifully-written and -performed

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

tessa thompson.. wow

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

Unique and emotional story

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

Great writing and narration

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

Give it a go.

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

Fascinating tale

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I consider this novel an heir of Doestoyevsky, which is the highest compliment an author can be paid.

In only a couple of hours Larsen tells a story with a handful of fully realised, fascinating characters with unique psychologies, digging in deep without ever taking the foot off of the tension. It ratchets up with every scene to a breathless thriller, all while soaked in social critique.

It really is like a Crime & Punishment of the 20th century. While a similar length to Poor Folk, an early Dostoevsky novella, it feels even more fully of a piece with his long novels.

It’s a remarkable work.

Tessa Thompson is brilliant

One of the all time great psychological Thrillers

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