A review by nordstina
Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Rootless is a moving debut novel by Krystle Zara Appiah about marriage and familial expectations. At the beginning of the book we meet Sam who comes home to find that his wife Efe has left him and their daughter and provides no way for him to contact her. The book then travels back in time nineteen years when Efe moves from Ghana to the UK with her sister for a British education. It then progresses a year or so in each subsequent chapter up to the book's opening scene before moving ahead in time. It is an effective strategy to build up to Efe's decision to leave the UK again for Ghana. We get glimpses into familial expectations for Efe in terms of schooling (she should excel and chose a successful career path) and relationships/parenthood (she should marry a Ghanian man with strong career aspirations and have many children). Efe struggles with those expectations and Appiah does a great job highlighting how these take on toll on Efe's mental well-being. Efe is a multi-dimensional character- the reader sympathizes with what she is going through and also can be frustrated with the actions she does and does not take. We see Efe and Sam's friendship slowly turn into something else. On the surface, everyone is excited for the match. They are both Ghanian and Sam has a promising career ahead. But cracks begin to show and while the two of them have bonded over traumatic experiences in the past, their visions for their future diverge and it comes to a breaking point for Efe. 

The ending section of the book seemed to come out of left field for me, but that did not take away from the broader story Appiah lays out. This is a strong debut from Appiah and I am looking forward to her next work.

Thank you to Ballantine Books (Random House) via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
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