Roots: The Saga of an American Family

My experience with Roots begins with the 2016 adaptation of the novel, which is an adaptation of the 1970's miniseries. When I found that I could get the book for some amount off at a store, I decided to give it a try. Well, in this rare case, the adaptation was better than the book, as most of the time, it could not hold the awesome power of the story consistently within the narrative.

Firstly, I feel that something must be said: This is more a work of Historical Fiction than actual truth. Not only do we get accounts of what certain characters were thinking, which you get in a narrative, but also some of Haley's book has come into question since it's publication. He has been sued at least twice for plagiarism, and while he settled in one lawsuit, and another was dismissed, Haley has maintained his innocence in this, claiming that he did not intend to plagiarize anything. Also, it is believed that he has an agenda in this text, where he tries to promote Islam in Africa, compared to the indigenous religions and other faiths that were practiced. How true this last claim is, I personally am indifferent to. I just have resolved to take this with a grain of salt, and to see the work as more fiction than an actual historical account.

That said, this book is well produced as an audiobook. The first ever audiobook adaptation was read by Avery Brooks, aka Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek DS9. This later won an Audie Award in the Non-fiction category, and it shows. Brooks reads all the voices well, with even being able to make each woman sound distinct, which is not something that every actor can do as women tend to have higher voices than men, and vice versa. If you ever get the chance, listening to this book is definitely superior to the physical version.

Haley manages to create an awesome book of truly epic proportions. Seeing several generations come from Africa into the Reconstruction period, some 100 years later is epic in scope, and Haley manages to do this better than most author's today. Another element that I enjoyed was seeing Kunta's reaction to the African slaves and wondering how they could be so complacent when we the reader know better. This was a good aspect of the novel that I liked to see.

Yet there are some things here that I feel should be mentioned for the reader's sake. One is the writing style. It is very stilted and formal, except for the dialogue. Some readers may find this detached writing style difficult to enjoy. Also, the narrator does not change their style of writing, despite moving through several generations, so each one can sound the same, regardless of if we are looking at Kunta or Chicken George.

Another issue is that we spend a lot of time in Africa learning about Kunta's life before he was enslaved (almost 200 to 300 pages of the book). On the one hand, this provides a nice contrast from Kunta in his old life to the way things are done for a slave in the American colonies. On the other hand, one may feel like this is taking too long given that we know what will eventually happen to him. Which side you fall on is personal, and can very widely based on who you are, with there being no wrong answer. It is just merely something the reader should be made aware of.

Indeed, this book is one of those that, in hindsight, is one that is lost in the shadow of its more popular cousin, the TV adaptation, and later books that dealt with slavery. Both tend to be raw and eye opening for the viewer in terms of how they portray it. While it's depiction may not be true to historical fact, what many readers experience will be based on their own personal feelings about slavery, and their history with it. For me, I felt that this novel, while long and drawn out at times, was a fair look at slavery for over 100 years, and this is something that I suggest one should read. I give it a four out of five.