Who Would Like This Book:
Yaa Gyasi's 'Homegoing' is a breathtaking saga that weaves together the histories of two half-sisters and their descendants, one line in Ghana, the other in the US. Spanning 300 years, it offers a deeply human look at the lasting legacy of slavery and the meaning of family, identity, and home. With vibrant storytelling and rich historical detail, it's perfect for those who love multi-generational epics like 'Roots,' readers interested in African and African-American history, and anyone who appreciates powerful, character-driven narrative fiction. Book clubs, history buffs, and literary fiction fans – put this on your list!
Who May Not Like This Book:
If you crave getting deeply attached to one character for a whole novel, the structure of 'Homegoing' might be challenging – each chapter introduces a new generation, sometimes making it hard to emotionally invest before moving on. Some readers also found the narrative a little disjointed or wished for more continuity and closure with individual stories. The sheer number of characters can be confusing, especially if you’re not referencing the family tree. A few felt the ending was abrupt, and that the stories set in more recent times lacked the same depth as earlier ones.
About:
"Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi is a powerful novel that traces the descendants of two half-sisters, Esi and Effia, born in Ghana, whose lives take different paths during the 18th century. One sister is sold into slavery and taken to America, while the other remains in Ghana, married to a white slaver. The book follows successive generations from both lineages, providing a sweeping narrative that explores themes of family, identity, history, and the enduring impact of slavery on both African and American descendants. The novel is structured as a series of linked stories, each chapter focusing on a different character in the family tree, moving between Ghana and America, capturing the struggles, triumphs, and hardships faced by each generation.
Yaa Gyasi's writing style in "Homegoing" is praised for its beauty, descriptive prose, and captivating storytelling. The book seamlessly alternates between the two family branches, offering glimpses into the lives of each character over centuries, from the Gold Coast of Africa to present-day America. Gyasi skillfully weaves together historical events, familial connections, and individual experiences, creating a compelling narrative that sheds light on the complexities of race, heritage, and the enduring legacy of slavery across generations.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for Homegoing include depictions of slavery, violence, sexual assault, trauma, and racism, which are addressed throughout the narrative.
Has Romance?
While romance exists in the novel, it is not the central focus; rather, the book emphasizes familial relationships and historical impacts.
From The Publisher:
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
One of Oprah's Best Books of the Year and a PEN/Hemingway award winner, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi's extraordinary novel illuminates slavery's troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed-and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.
A New York Times Notable Book
Ratings (207)
Incredible (65) | |
Loved It (74) | |
Liked It (39) | |
It Was OK (16) | |
Did Not Like (13) |
Reader Stats (511):
Read It (210) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (197) | |
Did Not Finish (10) | |
Not Interested (92) |
5 comment(s)
So human and raw. Gyasi’s characters are fully formed, imperfect, and real. You connect with each protagonist and don’t feel like you fully part with them with each chapter, their story continues. Extremely satisfying ending.
DNF @ 58%. Gyasi’s a skilled writer. But I couldn’t deal with the constantly changing POV characters in this short story collection and the increasingly cursory treatment of their stories. I would’ve liked to stick with Effia, Quey, Esi, Ness, Jo or H.
Unfortunately, this casting of the net across time and space with the same topic — slavery and oppression of Africans and African-Americans — makes Homegoing feel like the sort of Khaled-Hosseini style book that became yet another book about An Important Social Issue (and I say this as someone who likes A Thousand Splendid Suns). This is the same problem I have with Jhumpa Lahiri’s books: all her stories are ‘typecast’ stories about Bengali immigrants and it begins to wear thin after the first book and exasperate after the third. It’s been done a thousand times.
If I’d wanted a broad account of slavery in America, a history book would have been more powerful.
An excellent first novel, probably the best debut fiction I have read for awhile. The characters are memorable and the settings evocative. This one will stick with you.
*****2.5****
Review soon
Historical fiction
What can you read after
Homegoing?
About the Author:
Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. Her debut novel, Homegoing, was awarded the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award for best first book, the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first book of fiction, the National Book Foundation’s “5 under 35” honors for 2016, and the American Book Award. She lives in Brooklyn.
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