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andreiaoh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
honestly I'd give this 3.75 but I'm not a fan of quarter stars so rounding down to 3.5.
I was slow to warm up to this book and it was not an easy read at all but incredibly powerful and Evaristo's writing was wonderful. I loved the mixed medium style of this novel from standard prose, to non-fiction-esque passages, posters, advertisements and diary entries and I think it definitely made this a little easier to digest, particularly around the half way point.
This novel was simultaneously exactly what I expected as well as took me off guard completely and it'll definitely be a story I'll be thinking about for a long time.
I was slow to warm up to this book and it was not an easy read at all but incredibly powerful and Evaristo's writing was wonderful. I loved the mixed medium style of this novel from standard prose, to non-fiction-esque passages, posters, advertisements and diary entries and I think it definitely made this a little easier to digest, particularly around the half way point.
This novel was simultaneously exactly what I expected as well as took me off guard completely and it'll definitely be a story I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Excrement
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Blonde Roots is the story of a young girl who is kidnapped, transported across the sea in horrendous conditions, then sold as a slave. She is first put to work as a companion and playmate for her master’s young daughter but when that girls dies she is sold. She later escapes (despite her master claiming he is a good master and her position an easy and privileged one), is tracked down and recaptured, whipped then shipped to a sugar plantation. Eventually she escapes to join a group of maroons on the island.
So far this sounds all fairly typical for story centred on slavery. Yet in this world whyte Europanes were enslaved by black Aphrikans. Bernardine Evaristo has cleverly subverted the typical slave narrative and associated racial and colonial tropes by reversing and inverting the race of the main players. She has drawn far and wide in both historical and geographical terms for her source material so the world in this book is not an exact negative of any one place or period in ours. Much clearly comes from nineteenth century plantations; other material possibly from more recent immigrant experiences. I had fun recognising echoes of classics including Roots and Heart of Darkness. The novel cleverly skewers and satirises such notions as beauty ideals, innate racial characteristics, and notions of civilised vs uncivilised by simply reversing the positions of the races. If anyone is in any doubt as to the absolute wrongness of slavery, racism and colonialism the role reversal of this book should promote discomfort and a radical rethink. Even the majority of readers are likely to find something in this sly subversive story which gives them a new perspective, brings them up short, or provokes new awareness.
This isn’t my favourite book by Bernardine Evaristo but I really enjoyed it for its fresh and clever take on slavery.
So far this sounds all fairly typical for story centred on slavery. Yet in this world whyte Europanes were enslaved by black Aphrikans. Bernardine Evaristo has cleverly subverted the typical slave narrative and associated racial and colonial tropes by reversing and inverting the race of the main players. She has drawn far and wide in both historical and geographical terms for her source material so the world in this book is not an exact negative of any one place or period in ours. Much clearly comes from nineteenth century plantations; other material possibly from more recent immigrant experiences. I had fun recognising echoes of classics including Roots and Heart of Darkness. The novel cleverly skewers and satirises such notions as beauty ideals, innate racial characteristics, and notions of civilised vs uncivilised by simply reversing the positions of the races. If anyone is in any doubt as to the absolute wrongness of slavery, racism and colonialism the role reversal of this book should promote discomfort and a radical rethink. Even the majority of readers are likely to find something in this sly subversive story which gives them a new perspective, brings them up short, or provokes new awareness.
This isn’t my favourite book by Bernardine Evaristo but I really enjoyed it for its fresh and clever take on slavery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
tense
fast-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
4.0
Imagine if the Transatlantic slave trade was reversed? Imagine Africans the masters and Europeans their slaves... That's what Evaristo has done in this brilliant satire. She is a master of building worlds and developing character and this book is so clever. It's harrowing, poetic and even funny while so cleverly subverting everything about the slave trade. Doris is given the name Omorenomwara, and on the rare occasions her 'Europane' name is used, it is alien and hard to pronounce. Familiar place names are brilliantly given 'Aphrikan' iterations but the geography is the broadly the same.
While reading I found myself hoping and wishing that levels of empathy would be the same regardless of the skin colour of those suffering. But knowing how white privilege is still so disappointingly prevalent, this is such a brilliant way to challenge perceptions of race and culture. It was also interesting to see that those forced into slavery still largely come from the same area (Europa in this world is geographically below Aphrika), perhaps as an example of the ludicrous, arbitrary distinctions that were used to justify this abhorrent practice - that one group thought themselves superior simply because of their position on the planet.
This is not an easy read, but it is so clever and such an important satire that encourages a fresh look at the history of the slave trade.
While reading I found myself hoping and wishing that levels of empathy would be the same regardless of the skin colour of those suffering. But knowing how white privilege is still so disappointingly prevalent, this is such a brilliant way to challenge perceptions of race and culture. It was also interesting to see that those forced into slavery still largely come from the same area (Europa in this world is geographically below Aphrika), perhaps as an example of the ludicrous, arbitrary distinctions that were used to justify this abhorrent practice - that one group thought themselves superior simply because of their position on the planet.
This is not an easy read, but it is so clever and such an important satire that encourages a fresh look at the history of the slave trade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
jennie_white2008's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
This book is graphic in the second half. Deep thinking and thought provoking
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
katiersmart's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Rape
bryonyporter's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
ericaosko's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a book I continue to think about weeks and months after I read it. It gives a unique and powerful perspective on race and the slave trade, which revealed things to me about my own biases. The satire clever and funny, but the book was difficult to read because of the graphic violence. The violence made the book all the more hard-hitting and poignant, but it isn't always an enjoyable reading experience. This book is a must-read but should not be picked up lightly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, and Physical abuse
beckysbookshelf's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Blood, Death, Excrement, Violence, Slavery, Racism, and Kidnapping
adel's review
3.0
3 stars - might read again
Life's Library 2020 - Rosianna's pick
Life's Library 2020 - Rosianna's pick
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Slavery
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