In Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo imagines a history where “Aphrikans” enslaved “whytes.” What systems would be different, and what would remain similar? In this episode, John Green and Rosianna Halse Rojas discuss what it means to reframe historical narratives and the difficulty of asserting one’s personhood when structures of power refuse to acknowledge one’s humanity.

This episode was originally released to subscribers in July 2020. The Life’s Library Discord and subscriptions are now closed after a wonderful three years of reading together. Check out past books at www.lifeslibrarybookclub.com, Twitter, and Instagram.

Episode transcript.

Life’s Library logo by Bethany Mannion.