I don’t like this book, and I probably spent half an hour criticizing its plot, characters, and purpose. We’re currently reading “The Vanishing Half” in the Fallina Book Club.

Chelsea listened carefully to all my thoughts and opinions. I was deeply immersed in criticizing the book when, at one moment, I caught the soft fragrance of the tiny flower on our table. For a moment, I paused, and my frustration slowly faded away. Looking around the table, I realized how rare it is to have a space where I can openly share my thoughts, even the critical ones. If it weren’t for Fallina Book Club, I don’t think I would ever spend so much time discussing a book in such depth. Somehow, even criticism feels gentler when it is shared through a meaningful conversation.

Chelsea, as always, stayed composed and read with an appreciative heart. She sees things differently and always approaches a book with curiosity rather than judgment. I know that curiosity is probably the magic that will help me finish this book as well.

Two Strangers, Slowly Becoming Friends

It was only our second time reading and talking together for two hours, just the two of us. Chelsea was thoughtful, as always, choosing a place close to where I live.

Two strangers are slowly becoming friends through Fallina Book Club.

As we grow older, making new friends doesn’t come as naturally as it used to. At least for me, it’s been a long time since I genuinely considered someone a friend. Most of my close friends are people I’ve known for years. Everyone else, I would probably describe as an acquaintance.

I’m grateful that Fallina Book Club has brought new friendships into my life. Every time we meet, I leave feeling like my soul has been recharged.

My Thoughts on The Vanishing Half

The book explores racism, but I don’t think the author focuses deeply enough on any single theme for it to truly resonate with me. Still, it has inspired me to think about how society defines people’s value.

Recently, I saw the news about the controversial judgment involving Argentina and Egypt in the World Cup. I’m not a big fan of either team, but when I read that commercial value might have influenced the outcome, I couldn’t help but sigh.

It made me think about how we have always lived in a world built on value exchange. The reality is that people who want more opportunities often need to create value for others, while unfairness and bias still exist in many forms. I feel sorry for the Egyptian team, but the world can be brutally practical. Fairness is something we hope for, but recognition often comes after people prove their value. Otherwise, “I’m sorry” is just a sentence people give away for free.

What Are We Really Running Away From?

Back to the book.

Desiree and Stella wanted to escape Mallard. Later, Jude wanted to leave the town as well. But I don’t think any of them truly understood what they were running away from.

I don’t believe the real problem was only the town or even the color of their skin. I think the deeper problem was their relationship with themselves. None of them learned how to appreciate life as it was while still striving for something better.

Jude cared too much about being needed and accepted by others. Desiree spent too much of her life trying to understand the sister who left her behind. Stella spent her life hiding parts of herself instead of accepting who she truly was.

Would you have made different choices?

If you were Jude, what would you do? Go to UCLA? Instead of burying yourself in endless catering jobs, would you choose to build a life around your own dreams and ambitions?

To me, giving up your own purpose in life just to fulfill someone else’s needs isn’t love. That’s not living. That’s losing yourself.

I also think that when women sacrifice their own happiness for a man, it is sometimes less about love and more about insecurity. They lose sight of their own lives and spend years carrying someone else’s dreams while forgetting their own. Taking on someone else’s burden means little if you haven’t learned to carry your own.

Finding Your Own Value

I feel sorry for Desiree and Jude—not because they weren’t born with the same privileges as others, but because neither of them has truly discovered their own value yet.

For Jude, I hope she’ll learn to see her own worth in the coming chapters.

For Desiree… I honestly don’t know what to say. I feel that she has spent so much of her life searching for something outside herself, without realizing what she already carries within.

I don’t believe everyone is born with the same opportunities. We cannot control where we come from or what we are given. But if we fail to make the most of what we already have, we may spend our entire lives searching for something we believe is missing.

We all need a purpose to keep moving forward. That purpose can be money. It can be status. It can be many things. But it should never be another person.

Until next time~