Passing

Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield are childhood friends, both light-skinned enough to pass as white. Clare has chosen to live as a white woman, hiding her heritage even from her racist husband, while Irene embraces her place in Harlem's Black community. When the two meet again after years apart, their renewed fascination with each other's lives leads to tension, jealousy, and danger. Nella Larsen's 1929 Harlem Renaissance novel is a taut study of race, identity, and desire.