Issue #12: Book Review: Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo

I first learnt about Bernadine Evaristo and her work in 2019 when she was announced joint winner of the Booker Prize with Margaret Atwood. It was the first time since 1992 that the prize was shared, despite a rule that stated that only one winner could emerge. I promptly got a copy of the award-winning book - Girl, Woman, Other and her equally brilliant earlier published book - Mr Loverman. If you haven’t read those books, I suggest you do. They are delightful to read. I was so enamoured by the beauty of Ms Evaristo’s writing that I decided to read more of her books, so I bought a copy of Blonde Roots. 

Blonde Roots tells the story of the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. A litany of books has been published about the topic, one of the most famous being Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots, which tells the story of Kunta Kinte. Unlike Roots which tells the story of slavery using factual events based on reality, Blonde Roots cleverly adopts an alternative reality to retell the horrors of slavery by reversing history, casting Africans as the enslavers and Europeans as the enslaved people. The ‘blak Aphrikans’ live on Great Ambossa (capital city is called Londolo), a small but wealthy island off the continent of Aphrika, while the ‘whyte Europanes’ live on a medieval and feudal continent of Europa.

The novel is broken down into three sections and follows the life of a young English girl, Doris, the narrator, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. She becomes the personal assistant slave to one of the most successful enslavers in Great Ambossa, Chief Kaga Konata I. She narrates her journey as she was kidnapped, the horrors of being transported on a slave ship, her life as an enslaved person, and her dreams of escaping and returning home to her country and her family.

Many books have been written that ask the “what if” question of slavery, and some may ask why anymore need to be written, but Ms Evaristo did a great job with Blonde Roots. She managed to insert satire and humour into a serious subject without watering down the seriousness of the topic. It is a story that still tugs at heartstrings however familiar one is with the topic.

My favourite thing about the book is the writing. It is crisp and clear, and at times, I felt like I was sucked right into the story and could feel Doris’ pain, hopes, and dreams. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that some parts of the third section felt unnecessary and drawn out. Also, the patois accent spoken by the enslaved people was a bit hard to read, but I got used to it after a while. All told, I was not disappointed by this book. I think it is excellent, and I think everyone should read it.