Blonde Roots by Benardine Evaristo
By Phyllis Rhodes • Feb 7th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009 •
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In Blonde Roots, Benardine Evaristo’s latest novel, an alternate universe exists in which Aphrikans (Africans/Blacks) are the dominant race and the slave trade imports Europans (Europeans/Whites). The author has redrawn the map of the world as we know it. A graphical depiction provided in the opening pages shows Londolo, a capital city of the United Kingdom of Great Ambossa, located directly below the equator and immediately off the coast of Aphrika. The puns and acerbic bites of satire are not solely reserved for the cities and kingdoms, the character’s names, cultural references and comparisons in art, clothing fashions, language, religion, and courtship are all fair game for clever commentary.
The novel opens in the anti-abolitionist offices of The Flame, a pro-slavery publication, printed by Omorenomwara’s owner, Chief Kaga Konata Katamba I (note the irony of his initials: KKK). Omorenomwara, a trusted, literate, 30-something year-old slave, is editing the latest issue when given a note informing her that she has been selected to begin her journey back to the Motherland (Europa) via the Underground Railroad. It is then, via a series of flashbacks, that we learn that Omorenomwara is really Doris Scagglethorpe, who spent an idyllic cabbage-farming childhood in an Europan serfdom shared with her parents and three sisters. Innocence is lost when, at age 10 she is snatched by a Viking during a game of Hide-and-Seek and sold to the blaks. While the races maybe reversed in the novel, the horrors, cruelty, and inhumanity of the trade is the same. Doris’s recounting of the Middle Passage, enslavement, loss of identity and self-esteem, as a result of her servitude as a playmate to the plantation’s spoiled “miracle baby,” are aligned and echo actual experiences. Her botched escape, recapture, punishment, and relocation to a sugar cane plantation allows the reader to experience the harsher side of slave life and the ways by which slaves adapted to the back-breaking labor and coped with the inhumanity of it all via song, reverent prayer, inner-strength, and inter-family dependence. Doris’s story has some contrived bitter-sweet moments, but I like that the author paved the way for some semblance of happiness for her character.
The novel is complete in that it taps the common taboos by covering the gamut of superstitions (both races), nuances in tastes (spicy vs bland foods), perceptions on beauty, etc. While the author attempts to infuse comical anecdotes and witty retorts (some are quite good), the somber subject matter dampens the humor. The Slave Trade is a stain on the fabric of humanity and its waves are still reverberating some 400 years later. This book would be a great educational tool and potentially a great device to kick-start race-related discussions.
Reviewed by Phyllis
January 25, 2009
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Phyllis Rhodes is a systems engineer with a major defense contractor and adjunct professor at two local universities in Orlando, Florida. A lifelong bibliophile, she founded the Nubian Circle Book Club in 2001 and is a freelance book reviewer for the Orlando Sentinel, APOOO Exchange Team, and Amazon.com. As a consummate fan of the arts, she supports local and national theatre, literary events, and Afrocentric festivals, exhibits, and historical tributes. When not traveling, teaching, or reading, she researches her family history and applies her talents across a host of professional organizations chartered to sustain and uplift the African American community
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Wonderful review Phyllis….