Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley is a multigenerational novel following the life of Kunta Kinte, a Mandinka teenager kidnapped from Africa and enslaved in the United States. The story spans over 200 years, chronicling the hardships, struggles, and triumphs of Kunta Kinte's descendants, showcasing the brutality of slavery, the resilience of the human spirit, and the quest for liberation in America. The narrative weaves through different generations, portraying the impact of historical events on the family and highlighting the importance of connecting with one's roots and heritage.
Roots is a powerful and compelling narrative that delves into the inhumanity of slavery, the strength of family bonds, and the perseverance of individuals facing unimaginable challenges. Through vivid storytelling and unforgettable characters, the book explores themes of brutality, genealogy, triumph, and the resilience of the human spirit, offering a poignant portrayal of American history and the enduring legacy of African American culture.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic depictions of slavery, violence, racial trauma, sexual assault, and familial separation.
From The Publisher:
Discover Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning search for his family's origins: a powerful memoir, a history of slavery and a landmark in African-American literature.
Tracing his ancestry through six generations of architects, lawyers, blacksmiths, farmers, freedmen and slaves, Alex Haley's research took him back to Africa and a sixteen-year-old youth named Kunta Kinte. Torn from his homeland and brought to the slave markets of the New World, re-imagining Kunta's journey would allow Haley to explore his family's deep and distant past.
'A gripping mixture of urban confessional and political manifesto, Roots not only inspired a generation of black activists, but drove home the bitter realities of racism to a mainstream white liberal audience' Observer
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID OLUSOGA, AUTHOR OF BLACK AND BRITISH
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1 comment(s)
“Roots” is a bestselling novel in which author Alex Haley traces his family lineage from 1750’s Africa to 1970’s Arkansas. The novel begins with acknowledgments from Haley before taking the reader on a 120 chapter, seven hundred and twenty-nine page journey through time and from Africa to America.
The story presented in this novel is expansive as well as inspiring in reference to the amount of details provided about life in Africa, the horrors of slavery, and slave live in America. Through the course of 120 chapters, the reader learns of the story of Kunte Kinte which has been passed through seven generations of the Haley family.
This novel aims to show that the lives of African & African American slaves were more multilayered than some would like you to believe. I appreciated Haley showing both the joy and pain involved in slavery while showing how Kunta came from a Africa which is a country with a strong history, pride and community. I think too often narratives on slavery only focus on the life in bondage instead of looking back to the freedom Africans once had in their homeland.
Although this is a long novel at 729 pages, this novel is worthwhile in presenting the journey from Africa to America and will hopefully encourage the reader to investigate their own family history.
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About the Author:
Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.
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