A review by noemi_sc
Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I think the premises of the book were great - the idea that the history of slavery  could have gone in the complete opposite way and absolutely nothing would have been different, meaning that deep down human beings are just inherently flawed in their desire to oppress others regardless of race, gender, etc. - but the execution was somehow lacking for me. I did enjoy the humour/irony/sarcasm/cinism, however I found it a bit emotionally dry in certain points and I felt like the point of the book wasn't really coming across in the way the author was perhaps meaning to. I also found the timeline of events and spacial developments a bit confusing.
There were some points where the story reminded me of "The Power" by Naomi Alderman, but without that underlying rage and sense of injustice that history went in a certain way while it could have easily gone the opposite.