Appiah, K: Rootless

I liked the way the story was narrated. Backwards until today, told from Sam's or Efe's perspective. When I first saw the pink book cover, I thought this would be a light, maybe funny story. It is not. Efe is a difficult, unsure person, with switching moods and always on the edge of a depression. She needs to be alone from time to time, to recover and refill her energy. This is why taking care of her newborn child 24/7 is so exhausting for her. She never had the dream to be a mother. Sam, her best friend since youth and now her husband, has always dreamt of a family. He has difficulties to understand why Efe is acting like she does. Exploring their relationship from youth to adult was an interesting character study. I suffered a lot with both of them. At the same time, I could relate to Efe who did not know if her home country was now Ghana or the UK. Why do you have to choose between two countries? For me, this was a very interesting and strong emotional read about a relationship in the diaspora and the expectations for mothers.