Passing cover art

Passing

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Passing

By: Nella Larsen
Narrated by: Tessa Thompson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

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 Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature Fiction Heartfelt
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Custom of the Country cover art
Madame de Treymes and Two Novellas cover art
Plum Bun cover art
To the Lighthouse cover art
Their Eyes Were Watching God cover art
The Other House cover art
Salvage the Bones cover art
Kissing the Witch cover art
Mistletoe Malice cover art
The Late Mattia Pascal cover art
North and South cover art
The Glimpses of the Moon cover art
An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club) cover art
We Hope for Better Things cover art
The Painted Veil cover art
Kindred cover art

What listeners say about Passing

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    172
  • 4 Stars
    127
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    215
  • 4 Stars
    92
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    163
  • 4 Stars
    109
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating tale

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely quick read

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting themes

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully-written and -performed

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

tessa thompson.. wow

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Unique and emotional story

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great writing and narration

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Give it a go.

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Race, class and jealousy in 1920s Harlem

I have recently watched the Netflix film that is based on this 1929 book by Nella Larsen, It is certainly an eye opening story as I have not come across the idea of "passing" before. Listening to the audio version of this book after the film struck me how close Rebecca Hall's film adaptation is to the original story including some narrative that is lifted directly from the book. If anything, however, the Netflix film is less shocking as it has some of the disturbing racial language edited out. This is a powerful story that tackles themes including race, class and jealousy and leaves the listener wondering if we really have progressed at all in the past century.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful