Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo

This book flips all we know on its head and poses a what-if question: What if the Africans had enslaved the Europeans, rather than the other way?

As a child, Doris is stolen away while at play in the fields of England. She survives the horror of the slave ship, sale, and a new life where her pale skin and scrawny frame are mocked by her Aphrikan captors.

There are lots of interesting details sprinkled throughout the narrative: a house slave's hair is wired and coiffed into elaborate sculpture to make her less ugly, field workers toil while singing primitive chants like "Auld Lang Syne," and the common slur for Europanes is "wigger."

I actually think I would have gained greater insight if I had discussed this book while I was reading it - and a truly epic booktalk could result if you discussed this book in companion with my last entry, Chains!