Oh I just read this too! And finished “their eyes were watching god” this morning.

Re things - I actually found this book very analogous to the first part of Roots. It’s very much a story of the idyllic being ruined by colonialism. Even the major conflict where there is an accident is dealt with fairly and in terms of justice. That entire ecosystem is turned with the advent of white mans courts where justice is seemingly absurd and out of sorts with culture and custom. In many ways roots changes how this happens this as KK is simply abducted and foisted into a new world where he has similar experiences. It would be reasonable to success the main character in things took the better way out.

All in all this was an super easy read, but despite the flaws and accusations of roots, it’s the superior book.