Book recommendation: Roots

Roots was published in 1976 by an American journalist named Alex Haley. Roots was written about his own family, tracing all the way back 7 generations to Kunta Kinte, who lived in Africa and was captured by whites and brought to the USA as a slave. Alex Haley spent over 10 years researching his family background, and when it was published, it won a Pulitzer, and was even adapted into a television series.

Roots focuses on Kunta Kinte, describing his life in detail, and the cruelty of the slave traders. It also provides an unique insight into an African's point of view, showing that history is not always "written by the winners". I felt shocked when I read about how Americans treated the Africans 200 years ago, as I had never actually read about it in any detail. The verbal and physical abuse, maiming, torture, rape, were all laid bare in the story. The story changes perspective when it transfers from one generation to the next, in this case when Kunta's daughter was sold off by their master. The story also switches from 1st to 3rd person regularly. The following generations are not written about in much detail, except when Lincoln liberated the blacks. Haley described the emotions of the blacks with much detail, following their ups and downs. The story accelerates until it reaches Alex Haley himself.

I felt that this book put a stark contrast between the past and present, and it shows a more brutal perspective on prejudice, which is also a theme in To Kill A Mockingbird. I think that this book is an excellent read, and I think that it widened my horizon by quite a bit.