Passing

An Apple Books Classic edition.

Compelling and incisive, Nella Larsen’s tightly wound novella set in 1920s Harlem explores race and class through the intimate, urgent, and dramatic story of two Black women.

Childhood friends Irene and Clare lost touch years ago. When they reconnect, Irene is shocked to learn that light-skinned Clare has been passing as white, lying about her Blackness to everyone in her new life—even (or maybe especially) her white, racist husband.

As the pair resume their friendship, Clare’s choices force Irene to grapple with her own destabilizing feelings of contempt, fascination, and jealousy. With its cutting questions about relationships, identity, and community, Passing offers a brilliant and compelling snapshot of different experiences of being Black during a flashpoint in history.