Blonde Roots

Blonde Roots is a prose novel written by British-Nigerian author Bernardine Evaristo. Published by Penguin UK in 2009 and Penguin USA in 2010, this satirical novel reverts notions of transatlantic slavery, placing Africans as masters of European slaves. In 2009, it was the Orange Prize Youth Panel Choice and the Big Red Read Award.

Reviews
Evaristo has been praised for her historical approach within Blonde Roots. In the UK, The Independent declared: "In her new novel, Bernardine Evaristo, never one to shrink from an experiment, has taken her boldest step to date and turned the whole thing on its head... One of the best things about this book is its bittersweet, riotous humour...Running through these pages is not just a feisty, hyperactive imagination asking 'what if', but the unhealed African heart with the question, 'how does it feel?'. This is a powerful gesture of thematic ownership by one of the UK’s most unusual and challenging writers." Meanwhile, Publishers Weekly in the US stated: "British novelist Evaristo delivers an astonishing, uncomfortable and beautiful alternative history that goes back several centuries to flip the slave trade....Evaristo's intellectually rigorous narrative constantly surprises.... This difficult and provocative book is a conversation sparker."

Honours and awards

 * 2009: International Dublin Literary Award, nominated
 * 2009: Orange Prize for Fiction, nominated
 * 2009: Orange Prize Youth Panel Choice for Blonde Roots
 * 2009: Arthur C. Clarke Award, nominated

Publication information

 * Blonde Roots (Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, 2008; Riverhead/Penguin, USA, 2009, ISBN 978-0141031521)