Roots – Graphic Novel Review

‘Roots’ by Tara O’Connor is a graphic novel memoir about ‘finding yourself’. At 27, comic book artist Tara finds herself divorced and unable to come to terms with her new status. So decides to fly to Ireland to research on her family tree and write about her roots. But she finds out very little about her ancestors, but finds love and inspiration to live her life to the fullest again.

The artwork is simple and nice, but fails to do justice to all the traveling/exploring Tara does while abroad. Despite being an illustrated book, readers have to rely on Tara’s narration in the text to believe the view she has drawn is breathtaking. Perhaps the creator should’ve opted for a colored version, or the art should’ve been more detailed for us to get a better sense of where she is. The plain black and white art would have worked if there was more story.

Honestly, after a point I didn’t know why I had to care about what’s happening in Tara’s life, it was just mundane and uninteresting. ‘Roots’ feels like it’s for a very specific demographic – people who know Tara.

It’s a 2/5 from me.