Passing (Norton Critical Editions) by Nella Larsen (2007-09-04)

The novel carries an air of eloquence that allows the reader to float through the pages. It is a quick read pleasant for bedtime stories. My only caveat is the connection between race and a woman scorned by her husband. It appears the author wanted race to take the primary antagonistic role. It by the middle of the the novel, clearly the woman's emotions towards love are the lesson.

This story was fun to read and provided insight into the thoughts and actions of women like me from a different time frame. The climax was a little predictable; the end, however, was not. Overall great book!

The formatting on this edition is off, and the publisher should correct it. Larsen’s work is important, and deserves to be read as she wrote it. (I use the Kindle for iPad app.) Buy the paperback instead.

My daughter, who's been studying it in Creative Writing, suggested it - absolutely loved it! Beautifully written with a sense of something big that will happen. Issue of 'passing' a big one for anyone whose race is not obvious by the'outward shell.

My daughter, who's been studying it in Creative Writing, suggested it - absolutely loved it! Beautifully written with a sense of something big that will happen. Issue of 'passing' a big one for anyone whose race is not obvious by the'outward shell.

The novel itself is an important part of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, but this physical version of the book is an embarrassment to whoever published it and by extension to the store who sells it.

The copy of the book I have does not have a publisher listed, nor does it have a copyright date: instead, it has this information on the last inside page of the book on the very bottom: "Made in the USA/Lexington, KY/6 6 2012. The art work is not credited or even identified. This appears to be a print to order book or a photocopy of someone's personal copy because it has what looks like pencil underwriting of sections, and there are pages where the spelling of one of the characters's name varies on the same page, e.g. Clare and Claire. This type of error suggests self publishing or the use of an early, buy not final editor's draft. How can the store allow this shoddy type of product to be sold under its name?

When I complained, I was given full credit for it and told I should not bother sending it back.

I was extremely disappointed with this purchase. I started reading this book a few days ago and I realized that there were several typos just on the back of the book. The entirety of the novel is written in Courier New, as if it is a script, and the typos did not cease throughout the rest of the novel. The way it is written, with random page breaks in the middle of the sentence, makes me wonder if this was retyped and bound by a random person. The cover is blurry and low quality as if uploaded from a google image. I am extremely disappointed in this product.

An eye-opening story of black people who were, and still are, able to "pass" over into the white culture without giving themselves away. There are blonde, blue-eyed, white-skinned black people who "pass" in order to get necessary information from the enemy's camp. It was real and still happens today.

The act of "passing" is a lot more interesting than the book. Unfortunately the book is slow and the characters are one dimensional. There was really no evidence of fear of being "outed" until the end of the book. By then the thrill of the read was gone.

I am taking a course in the Harlem Renaissance and the author is the first we are studying. I found the book veery well written, flowing easily from one scene to the next. The compelling topic of passing for white in 1927 and the tragedy it could bring was handled beautifully.

Ms. Larsen helped me understand the impact of "passing" as a person of a non-white race. As a different type of "passing" person, I appreciate the similarities and striking differences in living in our American culture.