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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I can't believe I've never read this before, since I've read so many other African-American autobiographies and slave narratives, as well as quite a bit of fiction by African-American authors. What a fascinating counterpoint to the way history is usually told (or, recorded or remembered, since this book makes much of non-written forms of storytelling).
This was an amazing narrative of the descendants of Kunta Kinte. I've never seen either mini-series, and wanted to read (listen to) the book before I watched it. It's a very meaningful text, full of examples of the atrocities suffered by slaves in the U.S.
As a genealogy buff, it was fascinating to hear of a verbal narrative of a black family - the only way some slave descendants can trace theis history. It confirms the importance for all of us to really listen to the stories our elders tell about our families.
Lastly, Avery Brooks as the narrative made this book for me. I adore him, and he excelled at performing the voices of the different characters. It's quite impressive for a man with such a recognizable voice!
As a genealogy buff, it was fascinating to hear of a verbal narrative of a black family - the only way some slave descendants can trace theis history. It confirms the importance for all of us to really listen to the stories our elders tell about our families.
Lastly, Avery Brooks as the narrative made this book for me. I adore him, and he excelled at performing the voices of the different characters. It's quite impressive for a man with such a recognizable voice!
A beautiful depiction of one of the worst chapters of human history, following seven generations of a single family. As with all great books, it captures the absurdities, barbarism, joy and hope of human history and experience. This book is about a period in history which, like Nazi Germany and the Second World War, should be studied by every school child, no matter their background. Haley vividly brings to life the deep textures and ingenuity of his distant relatives' existence in the Gambia and his later forebears' experience as slaves in the United States. As ever with these kinds of subjects, it is always incredible to read of the resilience of the human spirit, in the most inhumane settings. A deeply moving book that will change your perceptions and experience of both the past and the present.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amazing! I learned a lot and the fact that the authors personal family history is what the story is built upon makes it all the more powerful.
I watched the show years ago, probably when I was around 13 years old, and was profoundly impacted by it. I wanted to see if the book would hit me in the same way, and unfortunately, no. I was optimistic at the start, and loved the first 200 pages or so, couldn't wait to read more, couldn't put it down. But unfortunately, that tapered off when we transitioned to the US. I was emotional and touched by the descriptions of Kunta's suffering, but after a certain point, it just starts to feel like trauma porn. I understand the irony and potentially the insensitivity of my saying I couldn't bear just reading about a life that real people had to actually survive, but it's the truth.
I pushed through that, and stuck with Kunta for as long as I could, but eventually ran into the second fatal flaw of the book: Phonetic accents. I've never been able to stand reading books with a lot of phonetic accents and unfortunately once we get to the part of the book where Kunta understands and begins speaking English, it's inescapable. It totally jars me out of the story and sounds caricature-ish, and ruins the whole flow for me. Having about 400 more pages of that to look forward to, I couldn't do it.
I really enjoyed the long beginning in Africa, the expanded sense of Kunta's roots (pun not intended) and family dynamics, which increases the bittersweet feeling of reading it and knowing what's going to happen to him, and the tragedy when it does happen. I even appreciated reading about the voyage to the US from Africa, and gaining a deeper understanding and respect for what Kunta and millions of Africans stolen from their homeland had to endure to survive. But in the long run, my issues with the writing overpowered my desire to finish the story.
I pushed through that, and stuck with Kunta for as long as I could, but eventually ran into the second fatal flaw of the book: Phonetic accents. I've never been able to stand reading books with a lot of phonetic accents and unfortunately once we get to the part of the book where Kunta understands and begins speaking English, it's inescapable. It totally jars me out of the story and sounds caricature-ish, and ruins the whole flow for me. Having about 400 more pages of that to look forward to, I couldn't do it.
I really enjoyed the long beginning in Africa, the expanded sense of Kunta's roots (pun not intended) and family dynamics, which increases the bittersweet feeling of reading it and knowing what's going to happen to him, and the tragedy when it does happen. I even appreciated reading about the voyage to the US from Africa, and gaining a deeper understanding and respect for what Kunta and millions of Africans stolen from their homeland had to endure to survive. But in the long run, my issues with the writing overpowered my desire to finish the story.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A definite 5 star read and this is going to be given a very special "top read of all time".
I love historical fiction and sweeping family sagas - what makes Roots even more special is that it is a mixture of fact and fiction.
I can't believe I haven't read it until now... I am certainly going to be pressing it into everyone's hands and saying
"You just have to read this".
Also I strongly think it should be compulsory reading in schools....
Just brilliant!
I love historical fiction and sweeping family sagas - what makes Roots even more special is that it is a mixture of fact and fiction.
I can't believe I haven't read it until now... I am certainly going to be pressing it into everyone's hands and saying
"You just have to read this".
Also I strongly think it should be compulsory reading in schools....
Just brilliant!