August 2009 Host: Nancy


Roots by Alex Haley

Summary

This is a historical novel that spans seven generations of a family. The story begins with an African boy named Kunte Kinte who was kidnapped from his homeland in the late 1700s and brought to America to be sold into slavery on a Virginia plantation. More than half of this near 700 page book is devoted to Kunte’s life, from his horrific voyage to the United States to his repeated attempts at escaping slavery. He spent part of the voyage thinking that he was going to be eaten by the white men and ultimately had half his foot chopped off for his repeated attempts at escaping slavery. Kunta’s pride and dedication to his heritage is passed on to his daughter Kizzy and throughout subsequent generations. The novel ends with Alex Haley himself who claims that he is a direct descendant of Kunte. Although a portion of the book was plagiarized from “The African” and Haley’s claims of being a direct descendant of Kunte were never proven, this was a captivating and compelling read as told through the eyes of slaves themselves.

Discussion

-We all enjoyed the book although the length of it prevented some of us from getting it read within the time frame that we had. The historical nature of the book fulfilled the penchant we all have for the ease of learning about other cultures through a good fiction read.

-The characters in this novel are colorful and believable. It is partially due to these characters (e.g. Kunte Kinte, Chicken George) that you will never forget this book.

-Kunte’s daughter Kizzy was torn from her parents and moved to another plantation. The novel follows Kizzy and her story - but we are completely separated from Kunte’s story at this stage - it was a bit of a disappointment as he was such a compelling character.

-We couldn’t fathom how people were so readily willing to impose the cruelty of slavery on generations and generations of Africans. We discussed how if we were alive during the 1700s and 1800s, how different would we be and would we be so willing to do the same.

-Note: The 30th anniversary edition of “Roots” has numerous grammar and spelling errors so it might be worthwhile picking up an earlier edition of the book as these mistakes are distracting.

Menu

Prosciutto Wrapped Melon

Beer Butt Chicken

Pulled Pork

Smoked Baked Potatoes

Zucchini Squash Casserole

Sumi Salad

Rice/Tomato/Black Olive Dish

Chocolate Caramel Nut Cake

Grasshopper Pie

Orange Dessert