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kaceyp73 's review for:
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
by Alex Haley
I got this book at a garage sale this summer and recognized the title as a book that I thought everyone had read but me. It turns out that not many people have read the book, but it was a very popular mini-series. Anyway...
This was a fabulous book. It has been about 5 weeks since I read it and I still keep thinking about it. It has changed how I see African-Americans--both physically and emotionally. Kunta described the different features of the slaves that he saw (wider noses, prominent foreheads, etc) and he knew which communities they came from. He also was surprised that certain blacks were not being used where their strengths were. For example, he thought the white men were stupid b/c they put a man in the field who was from a tribe that taught their men how to build homes.
It was interesting to see the generations of slaves change in their mentality. Kunta Kinte did not want to ever submit to the whites. He believed in continually trying to escape and couldn't understand why the blacks weren't revolting against slavery. Then he married and had a daughter, Kizzy. And suddenly you see that Kunta doesn't want his daughter to be in continual torment or running for her life. He wants her to be happy--and happy might mean being submissive to the whites and existing peacefully. The continual evolving of 7 generations was great reading and the end was sad, but satisfying.
I haven't seen the mini-series, but I can't imagine that it was as good as the book. I recommend that everyone reads this book.
This was a fabulous book. It has been about 5 weeks since I read it and I still keep thinking about it. It has changed how I see African-Americans--both physically and emotionally. Kunta described the different features of the slaves that he saw (wider noses, prominent foreheads, etc) and he knew which communities they came from. He also was surprised that certain blacks were not being used where their strengths were. For example, he thought the white men were stupid b/c they put a man in the field who was from a tribe that taught their men how to build homes.
It was interesting to see the generations of slaves change in their mentality. Kunta Kinte did not want to ever submit to the whites. He believed in continually trying to escape and couldn't understand why the blacks weren't revolting against slavery. Then he married and had a daughter, Kizzy. And suddenly you see that Kunta doesn't want his daughter to be in continual torment or running for her life. He wants her to be happy--and happy might mean being submissive to the whites and existing peacefully. The continual evolving of 7 generations was great reading and the end was sad, but satisfying.
I haven't seen the mini-series, but I can't imagine that it was as good as the book. I recommend that everyone reads this book.