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A review by booksjessreads
Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and definitely lived up to my expectations! Despite not having read all of her books, Bernadine Evaristo has become an auto-buy author for me and I can't wait to get through some more of her work!
The concept of this book was brilliant, combining two pieces of traditional slavery literature - the slaver's manifesto and the escape story - and allowed us to gain both the slaver and enslaved perspectives. The whole concept of white people being enslaved was what also drew me to the book. It was a lot of the profound and creative word choices in relation to this that really hooked me.
I noticed also that the slaver's writings in Blonde Roots drew influence from slaver's and travellers writings, such as Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness which added an eerie and uncomfortable sense to the manifesto presented in the novel. The dark humour crafted around white culture also added an interesting dimension and the satire in regards to this was so well crafted!
Whilst there were more "humorous" parts, it goes without saying that there are much darker themes at play and it did get quite heavy. However, it's a novel that really allowed me to engage and follow the characters and nevertheless I really enjoyed it!
The concept of this book was brilliant, combining two pieces of traditional slavery literature - the slaver's manifesto and the escape story - and allowed us to gain both the slaver and enslaved perspectives. The whole concept of white people being enslaved was what also drew me to the book. It was a lot of the profound and creative word choices in relation to this that really hooked me.
I noticed also that the slaver's writings in Blonde Roots drew influence from slaver's and travellers writings, such as Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness which added an eerie and uncomfortable sense to the manifesto presented in the novel. The dark humour crafted around white culture also added an interesting dimension and the satire in regards to this was so well crafted!
Whilst there were more "humorous" parts, it goes without saying that there are much darker themes at play and it did get quite heavy. However, it's a novel that really allowed me to engage and follow the characters and nevertheless I really enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Child death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape and Miscarriage