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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is extremely long. I admit I began to feel weary after we changed main characters for the third time, but then I realized it was long by necessity. They say form follows function. If the story felt really long, that's because slavery felt really long! I wanted so badly for the family to escape to freedom before they did, but that's not how history works. They, of course, wanted that escape far more than I did, but escape eluded them.
Reading Roots is a journey, and the time you spend with this family really makes you grow attached to them. To me it felt much like Great Expectations, another long story that has an incredible pay off and makes you fall in love with its characters. I loved how the characters in Roots felt like real people. They had flaws. You didn't always support their decisions. But you always felt for them and rooted for them every step of the way.
I also loved reading American history from the perspective of the slaves. Over the course of the century or so that the main story spans, the slaves hear news of the revolution, civil war, emancipation, etc. in bits and pieces from what they hear the white people talking about. As a Canadian who barely knows that history anyway, I loved learning from that unique perspective, especially after having just watched the Hamilton musical, the events of which come up here and there in Roots.
This book also really gives you more of an appreciation for just how truly horrible slavery was, which seems like such an obvious understatement. But when you think of slavery, you often think of the physical burdens and the atrocity of not being able to decide your future for yourself. Roots helps you understand the emotional, mental, and spiritual anguishes of being ripped from families, the cultural genocide, and so many other aspects of slavery that sometimes either get glossed over or simply forgotten over time. In that regard, I think Roots is an extremely important book.
Finally, I am aware of the controversy surrounding Alex Haley and whether this is an actual history, considering the accusations of plagiarism and such. I actually wrote a paper about it during my undergrad. Having now actually read the book, I think he explains himself fairly well in the final chapter, but ultimately I don't even think it matters that much. I'd like it to be a true story, but even if it's not, that doesn't impact how important this book is or the impact it had and can still have on the world, which is basically the conclusion I came to in the paper.
Reading Roots is a journey, and the time you spend with this family really makes you grow attached to them. To me it felt much like Great Expectations, another long story that has an incredible pay off and makes you fall in love with its characters. I loved how the characters in Roots felt like real people. They had flaws. You didn't always support their decisions. But you always felt for them and rooted for them every step of the way.
I also loved reading American history from the perspective of the slaves. Over the course of the century or so that the main story spans, the slaves hear news of the revolution, civil war, emancipation, etc. in bits and pieces from what they hear the white people talking about. As a Canadian who barely knows that history anyway, I loved learning from that unique perspective, especially after having just watched the Hamilton musical, the events of which come up here and there in Roots.
This book also really gives you more of an appreciation for just how truly horrible slavery was, which seems like such an obvious understatement. But when you think of slavery, you often think of the physical burdens and the atrocity of not being able to decide your future for yourself. Roots helps you understand the emotional, mental, and spiritual anguishes of being ripped from families, the cultural genocide, and so many other aspects of slavery that sometimes either get glossed over or simply forgotten over time. In that regard, I think Roots is an extremely important book.
Finally, I am aware of the controversy surrounding Alex Haley and whether this is an actual history, considering the accusations of plagiarism and such. I actually wrote a paper about it during my undergrad. Having now actually read the book, I think he explains himself fairly well in the final chapter, but ultimately I don't even think it matters that much. I'd like it to be a true story, but even if it's not, that doesn't impact how important this book is or the impact it had and can still have on the world, which is basically the conclusion I came to in the paper.
Audible removed this from the plus catalog when I was finished. Due to passage of time, I need to re-read it from the start when I obtain another copy.
I tried so hard but I just couldn't. Maybe the book is good but my mind's not in the right place for it. I have always read books according to my moods and interests. I also have a problem where I cannot read books that are currently hot eg. Where the Crawdads Sing was on my shelf (a gift) as soon as it was out but I couldn't touch it until a year later, and I loved it when I read it. It took me two months to get through 200 pages of this 800 pages tome, and in between I'd make every excuse to put off reading - I even watched 7 seasons of Suits! And I have never diligently spent that much time watching tv. I try really hard not to abandon books especially if it's well-known and has good reviews so I was reluctant to put this aside. I got distracted with a project for Scheherazade's extracurricular activity and as I worked on that project I slowly gained my equilibrium, and decided to move on from this book. Maybe, just maybe, I'll revisit. But not so soon.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
inspiring
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
J'ai déjà lu de nombreuses histoires sur l'esclavagisme, mais le principe du roman générationnel me plaît toujours autant.
La première partie m'a énormément plu, l'enfance et l'adolescence de Kounta Kinté, ce Mandingue de Gambie qui apprend à devenir un homme et dont l'espoir secret est de voyager avant de pouvoir fonder une famille dans la pure tradition Mandingue. On découvre des rites et des coutumes d'une Afrique vivante, riche, avec un héritage culturel impressionnant. Puis c'est le drame, la traversée de l'Atlantique, l'arrivée dans une Amérique qui use déjà d'esclaves noirs pour les cultures et les basses tâches.
J'ai trouvé que le roman finit par s'essouffler au bout d'un moment, certains chapitres paraissent écrits pour combler les trous, et honnêtement, j'en avais un peu marre. Mais plus on avance et plus ou se rapproche de notre époque et plus on sent qu'on va enfin comprendre le fin mot de l'histoire. Effectivement, on y arrive.
En toute fin de son oeuvre, Alex Haley nous fait le plaisir de nous parler de la genèse de son livre, et c'est une formidable manière de terminer un roman fleuve qui nous parle de cruauté, presque autant que d'amour.
La première partie m'a énormément plu, l'enfance et l'adolescence de Kounta Kinté, ce Mandingue de Gambie qui apprend à devenir un homme et dont l'espoir secret est de voyager avant de pouvoir fonder une famille dans la pure tradition Mandingue. On découvre des rites et des coutumes d'une Afrique vivante, riche, avec un héritage culturel impressionnant. Puis c'est le drame, la traversée de l'Atlantique, l'arrivée dans une Amérique qui use déjà d'esclaves noirs pour les cultures et les basses tâches.
J'ai trouvé que le roman finit par s'essouffler au bout d'un moment, certains chapitres paraissent écrits pour combler les trous, et honnêtement, j'en avais un peu marre. Mais plus on avance et plus ou se rapproche de notre époque et plus on sent qu'on va enfin comprendre le fin mot de l'histoire. Effectivement, on y arrive.
En toute fin de son oeuvre, Alex Haley nous fait le plaisir de nous parler de la genèse de son livre, et c'est une formidable manière de terminer un roman fleuve qui nous parle de cruauté, presque autant que d'amour.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
It always amazes me when I come across someone who hasn't read this book. For most it's assigned in school, but just word of mouth is enough to have made this a popular one. And for good reason. This is an extremely powerful book.
Born in Africa, Kunta Kinte was the oldest son of his father Omoro and mother Binta. Though quickly followed by several other sons, he is the man of the family and the first to go through all the different rights and teachings of his tribe. Until he is caught by slavers and sold in America where he becomes a slave. And from him comes several generations, some also slaves, who continue his legacy and story of Africa and hope for a better future.
The primary characters in this book are Kunta Kinte and his grandson Chicken George. The first half of the book is about Kunta and a big portion of it is his childhood. He is a thoughtful person and spends a lot of time daydreaming and thinking about his village and the life there. He also has very strong convictions. Chicken George is more fun loving and laid back. He enjoys his comforts and I found him somewhat irritating at times because of the way he treated his family. The women don't get as much time in this book, and I was a little disappointed in that. I would have liked them to have just as big of roles as the men in the book. Kunta's daughter Kizzy gets a bit, but the focus is really more on her son.
Some of the events in this book are very tragic and brutal. Even more so because it's about situations that happened in real life. In fact, this is actually part non-fiction. It's the story of the author's family and the research he did was thorough. Sure he didn't know all the conversations and everything that happened, so some is fiction, but its based off of true events. And the horrors of slavery are clearly expressed in this book. Some may express disappointment that you don't get to find out what happens to some of the characters, but I think this is very realistic of what happened in life as their own family members didn't know what happened in most cases. It's a hard book to put down despite it being about sad topics though. You genuinely want to find out what happens to this family.
One of the better books out there and truly one that everyone should read. At least in my opinion.
Roots
Copyright 1976
729 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2014
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Born in Africa, Kunta Kinte was the oldest son of his father Omoro and mother Binta. Though quickly followed by several other sons, he is the man of the family and the first to go through all the different rights and teachings of his tribe. Until he is caught by slavers and sold in America where he becomes a slave. And from him comes several generations, some also slaves, who continue his legacy and story of Africa and hope for a better future.
The primary characters in this book are Kunta Kinte and his grandson Chicken George. The first half of the book is about Kunta and a big portion of it is his childhood. He is a thoughtful person and spends a lot of time daydreaming and thinking about his village and the life there. He also has very strong convictions. Chicken George is more fun loving and laid back. He enjoys his comforts and I found him somewhat irritating at times because of the way he treated his family. The women don't get as much time in this book, and I was a little disappointed in that. I would have liked them to have just as big of roles as the men in the book. Kunta's daughter Kizzy gets a bit, but the focus is really more on her son.
Some of the events in this book are very tragic and brutal. Even more so because it's about situations that happened in real life. In fact, this is actually part non-fiction. It's the story of the author's family and the research he did was thorough. Sure he didn't know all the conversations and everything that happened, so some is fiction, but its based off of true events. And the horrors of slavery are clearly expressed in this book. Some may express disappointment that you don't get to find out what happens to some of the characters, but I think this is very realistic of what happened in life as their own family members didn't know what happened in most cases. It's a hard book to put down despite it being about sad topics though. You genuinely want to find out what happens to this family.
One of the better books out there and truly one that everyone should read. At least in my opinion.
Roots
Copyright 1976
729 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2014
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com