gwendolynaudrey_reads 's review for:

Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

4.75

challenging emotional informative sad 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

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I learned so much about the history of slavery in the United States. This should not be your stopping point on your journey of learning about slavery and the US’ history, not in small part because of the various critiques lobbied against Haley over the years, but it is a huge milestone that a lot of black/historical/AfAm literature of the last 50+ years has been in dialogue with that I felt it necessary to read at one point in my life. It’s knocked down from 5 stars because of the 200+ pages spent describing cockfighting…. and because he so often skirts over the stories and psyches of women, especially Kizzy. I feel like I need to read some Morrison after this!