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Rootless : a novel  Cover Image Book Book

Rootless : a novel / Krystle Zara Appiah.

Summary:

"A provocative debut novel about a British Ghanaian marriage in crisis that asks the question: Can you ever be rooted in a home that's on the brink of collapse? It seemed everyone knew Efe and Sam were meant to be--everyone except for Efe and Sam. Efe, newly arrived in the UK from Ghana and sinking under the weight of her parents' expectations, finds comfort in the focused and idealistic Sam, also Ghanaian, but for whom the UK feels like home. He's stable, he's working towards a law career, and he has a vision for his future. Efe, on the other hand dropped out of university, works at a bookstore, and dreams about life as an art curator--a dream her mother condemns. After spending years as best friends, Efe and Sam begin a fling that ends with the two of them married and starting a family. Their love story couldn't seem more perfect. But you know what they say: Looks can be deceiving. Motherhood for Efe might as well be a crime scene. She's just getting used to having a toddler when a second unplanned pregnancy throws her for a loop, forcing Sam and Efe to confront just how radically different they want their lives to be. Already swallowed by the demands of motherhood and feeling the dreams she had slipping away once again, Efe flees to Ghana, leaving Sam and their daughter behind. As Sam's illusion of their perfect marriage crumbles before him, Efe is determined to figure out which life she should pursue: the stability of her marriage, or the reawakened freedom she's finally found as an artist herself. A heartrending love story about motherhood and sacrifice, Rootless provides an intimate look at what happens after a marriage collapses, leading two people to rediscover what they ultimately want--and if it's still each other"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780593500453 (hardcover)
  • ISBN: 0593500458 (hardcover)
  • Physical Description: 351 pages ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First U.S. edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Ballantine Books, 2023.
Subject: Married people > Fiction.
Motherhood > Fiction.
Self-actualization (Psychology) in women > Fiction.
Ghanaians > England > Fiction.
Genre: Domestic fiction.

Available copies

  • 2 of 2 copies available at Kenton County.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Erlanger Branch APPIA K (Text) 33126020796342 Adult Fiction Available -
Independence Branch APPIA K (Text) 33126020796300 Adult Fiction Available -

  • Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2023 March

    DEBUT Giving voice to the misgivings around motherhood and the pressures that those closest to us can bring to bear on pivotal decisions, this debut cracks the personal and familial wide open. Efe met Sam when she first arrived in the UK from Ghana in 1997. Sam was an earlier arrival from Ghana, already familiar with school in England. Nineteen years later, Sam races up the steps to their London apartment, breathlessly looking for Efe and the £1,300 missing from their bank account, while their young daughter Liv asks after her mother. The years from meet-cute to missing mother take readers on an intimate and painful journey with Efe as she grapples with cultural and familial forces that shape her life and decisions. Does she want a child? Sam does, and he makes no secret of it, pressuring Efe. Efe feels torn between her family community in Ghana and the less familiar, fast-paced material life in London. How could she grow to understand herself, much less raise a family she's not sure she even wants, in this uncertain environment? VERDICT Appiah's storytelling is heartrending, with a sharp insight that few have dared attempt.—Julie Kane

    Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

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