Passing by Nella Larsen - Books

Passing

By Nella Larsen Black Literature 04/02/2025

“A tragic story rooted in the . . . facts of American life . . . that loyalty to a Black . . . identity was not only an act of pride, but one of courage.” —The New York Times

“[Larsen’s novels are] . . . absolutely absorbing, fascinating, and indispensable.” —Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning author of The Color Purple

Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry were childhood friends—a relationship that Irene, a Black woman living a comfortable life in a thriving neighborhood in 1920s Harlem, would like to banish to the past. Because Clare, recently relocated to New York and eager to reconnect, is living a lie. Married to a racist white man who knows nothing about her background, Clare is passing for white.

Envious of Irene’s comfort with her own race, Clare can’t stay away, inserting herself into Irene’s life at every opportunity. Soon the two women’s bond is tentatively ignited again, despite how disturbed Irene is by Clare’s double life. But as Clare is drawn deeper into Irene’s community—her deception is in danger of being discovered—with tragic consequences.

Nella Larsen’s brilliant examination of white privilege and Black identity is just as riveting and relevant today as when it was originally published in 1929.

“One of the best novels of the year.” —W. E. B. DuBois