Rootless

A Novel

De: Krystle Zara Appiah

Narrado por: Clifford Samuel, Diana Yekinni

WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • A provocative debut novel about a marriage in crisis that asks the question: Can you ever be rooted in a home that’s on the brink of collapse?

“Beautiful, gripping, and tender . . . a powerful and unforgettable meditation on love, belonging, and motherhood.”—Emilia Hart, author of Weyward

On a spring afternoon in London, Sam races up the stairs of his flat two at a time. There’s £1,300 missing from the bank account he shares with his wife, Efe, and his calls are going straight to voicemail. When he finally reaches someone, he learns that Efe is over four thousand miles away, as their toddler looks around and asks, “Where’s Mummy?”

When Efe and Sam met as teens headed for university, it seemed that everyone knew they were meant to be. Efe, newly arrived in the UK from Ghana and sinking under the weight of her parents’ expectations, found comfort in the focused and idealistic Sam. He was stable, working toward a law career, and had an unwavering vision for their future—a vision Efe, now a decade later, finds insufferable. From the outside, they’re the picture-perfect couple everyone imagined, but there are cracks in the frame.

Faced with a life-altering decision, Efe and Sam find themselves on opposing sides, forced to confront just how radically different they want their lives to be. Then one day, Efe disappears. Rootless is a heartrending story about sacrifice, family, and ambition, providing an intimate look at what happens after a marriage collapses—and if it can still be saved.

©2023 Krystle Zara Appiah (P)2023 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A beautiful, gripping, and tender novel . . . Efe and Sam felt heartbreakingly real—I was utterly invested in their relationship, from heady teenage courtship to the challenges of parenthood. Vividly set in London and Accra, Rootless is a powerful and unforgettable meditation on love, belonging, and motherhood.”—Emilia Hart, author of Weyward

“The unswerving exploration of marriage, parenthood, and identity in Rootless is brave, insightful, and heartbreaking. . . . A moving debut novel.”—Rachel Edwards, author of Lucky

“One mark of a great novel is the emotions its characters elicit within us. Rootless is a character-driven narrative which, from page one, welcomes you in, leads you to your seat, and buckles you in for the journey. Sam and Efe are the epitome of messy, infuriating, and lovable, their romance constantly driving them apart and pulling them back together. They war. They repent. They fly their mistakes like flags. That is the beauty of Appiah’s work—humanity is on display on every single page. Rootless is a beautifully honest exploration of the complexities of motherhood, marriage, family, and love. It is a novel not to be missed!”—Onyi Nwabineli, author of Someday, Maybe

Nice story, unexpected end

I gave this a 4 because I just felt some of the decisions of the main characters seemed a bit out of touch with real life in my humble opinion. Main character seemed self-absorbed but at the same time wasn’t lol. Idk how to explain it.
Anyway, I liked that the end was not predictable but being a forever optimist, it left a bad taste for me. Great job to the writer and performers. Felt like I was watching the scenes. Would recommend

Incredible

This book was so incredibly well written. It captured the cultural dynamic, the pressures on women, the views on parenting and children, and mental health very well. This is a book that’s hard to put down.

Loved!!

Loved being rooted in this read from the beginning. Enjoyed the performance and the character development.

The performance doesn’t let me enjoy

I hate the performance and wasn’t able to get past that to continue this read.

omg wow

I have never felt so related to a character, my god. Everything about Efe is so raw and easy to connect with. I felt all the feels. Her relationship is so incredible to show how love is enough. Even if you want different things, you can make it happen. Ugh, and the ending I never saw coming that had me crying for days!

I was immersed in every moment of Rootless!

Loved the way Rootless was structured with me thinking I knew where the story was taking me. I was surprised at many plot points but the three-dimensional characters shared their souls; it was a beautiful, heart-wrenching journey. It was an international and cultural joy to dive into whenever I got a chance.

Krystle Zara Appiah is a true storyteller and now one of my favorite authors.

Shocking ending

This book is a slow start. I didn’t start getting into it till about 1/3 in. It starts off with Efife running away and Sam trying to call to find out why. Then it goes into how they met and got together.

What I took away from this book is that we need to listen when people tell us they don’t want something. Life is hard and trying to live it on someone else’s terms is not fun.

Having a child you necessarily didn’t want and dealing with what sounded like postpartum and taking care of your father in law while your husband isn’t doing his job as a father/husband by not giving you the support you need can make you feel lonely and isolated.

Towards the end the tired to make amends with the hurt they caused each other.

I definitely almost shed a tear because the ending was unexpected.

5 minutes after

And I feel like I lost, that old familiar feeling of ending a reading journey of excellent characters and a well developed story.

Beautiful work

I’m glad I discovered this book. What a beautiful story that captures all of the struggles and beauty and grief of life.

Beautiful story that captures the imperfections of life

The characters were written so beautifully that they capture your heart even when they are being less than perfect; less than forgiving. While I found my feelings about both Sam and Efe changing throughout the book, by the end I realized they were two imperfect people - who's experiences and trauma shaped them. At the end of the day, they were trying to figure out how to navigate life (i.e., their marriage, jobs, child, families) the best way they knew how. This story captures themes that are not often shared in the Black community: trauma, postpartum, motherhood (not wanting to be one), etc. I truly loved this book even though it was heartbreaking in so many ways. Highly recommend it.