Rootless is a story of a Ghanaian-British couple, Efe and Sam, who fall in love as teenagers and quickly get married. Our story begins when Sam realizes Efe has withdrawn 1,300 pounds from their joint account and fled to Ghana, leaving their infant daughter and their marriage in her rearview. Sam is totally blindsided, and at loss on what to do.

This novel employs a dual timeline- the current one where Efe has abandoned her family, and the past which explains all that leads up to the present. Efe and her sister were sent to the UK by their parents to study and gain stable careers (see: Ghanaian parent definition of ‘stable’). Efe struggles to find her place in university and interest in economics, the course her parents deigned suitable. She later drops out, and all throughout the story, we get the sense that Efe is a wandering soul, unsure of her place in the world after she is left traumatized by racial abuse as a child. This translates into her relationship-seeking behaviour, as we see later in the book that Efe is unable to communicate her desires clearly.

‘People- even the ones who love you- can be a weight around your neck. You just have to choose which weights you want to carry. And I am strong. This. This I can live with.’

Krystle Zara Appiah from “Rootless”

Efe meet Sam as a teenager and they remain in contact even through their university years. A few years later, they are married in beautiful bliss and all is well, until it isn’t. Efe accidently gets pregnant, and she is adamant she doesn’t want to keep the child. Sam, on the otherhand, also was traumatized by his mother abandoning him as a child so he desperately wants a family. Eventually, they ‘compromise’ aka Sam gets his way and Efe gives birth to Olivia.

Soon, we are exposed to Efe’s struggles as a mother. Efe struggles with motherhood and its constant demands and expectations and plunges into a deep depression. There are so many points in this story where the author illustrates the the heavy societal expectaions on women, especially mothers. This fractures Sam and Efe’s relationship because in the postpartum period, Sam is selfish. This fractures their relationship and eventually leads Efe to escape the UK to regain her sense of self.

After countless bookclub discussions, I finally have empathy for Efe. I cannot endorse her actions but I can say I understand. She is an example that sometimes before you can save others, you need to save yourself first. I understand her need to look our for herself, but what of her responsibility to Olivia?

I struggled to accept certain parts of Efe’s and Sam relationship; I found them self-centered. Truly a lot of their difficulties could have been solved by an open and honest conversation. In this aspects though, ‘Rootless” is extremely realistic in portraying marriages and parenthood.

The connection between Efe and Sam wasn’t entirely believabale to me once their relationship became romantic. The plot development fell flat slightly for me but the most unforgivable of it all was the ending- it honsetly felt like a last minute thought for shock factor. My primary issue with this novel is that Efe was too docile a character- she spent the first half of the novel afraid to speak up for herself and that lead to so many avoidable regrets. She is a cautionary tale to women especially; we must set clear boundaries in relationships, boldly speaking up for ourselves.

There is a lot that is enjoyable about this novel however- its tender, emotional portrayal of motherhood is one I would not forget soon. “Rootless” is a moving debut and I am looking forward for more from this author.

Rating: 3.9 stars