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,… 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
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This slim novel of breathtaking scope and emotional power packs a powerful punch. It is unlike anything I’ve read before. You will find yourself obsessed by the two half sisters who are the beating heart of the story. I loved it.
I loved this book! It begins with two half-sisters in 18th-century Africa, and then follows their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc., through the decades as they deal with the consequences of their ancestors’ lives. Each chapter functions kind of like a short story, with new characters and settings, so it’s a good book to read in short spurts before bed or on the train.
Gyasi does a great job showing how the impact of something that happened centuries ago — like slavery — can reverberate through the generations. It reminded me that humans are all tied together much, much more than we think. Be nice to each other, people 🙂
This is a splendidly written tale of triumph and tragedy told over several generations. Two sides of the same family experience vastly different lives after they are separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Each generation’s love and heartbreak is heard and felt through the many voices that tell this devastatingly wonderful story.
This book is about the lives of the descendants of two Ghanaian women – one who marries the British Governor and lives at Cape Coast, a slave castle, and one who is sold in to slavery and ends up in the U.S.
For me, the best aspect of the book was how it put what I already knew about history on parallel timelines so I saw the events in Africa and the U.S. in tandem.
Highly recommend, especially for anyone who has or will travel to Ghana.
Epic. A structural masterpiece. Beautifully written and masterfully told. I am inspired and blown away by Gyasi’s debut.
Loved this book! It was the story about two half-sisters born in Africa. One was sold into slavery and shipped to the United States. The other married a British slave trader and remained in Africa. The story followed 7 generations over 250 plus years from the late 1700s up to present day, alternating chapters between the half sister’s descendants, with one chapter devoted to one person per generation. In a way, it was like reading short stories, but they were all related. It did take a little while to get used to the structure of the book, and it wasn’t an easy read. It took me probably twice as long (if not more) to read and digest each page to try and understand the relationship between the new character and where they fit into the family tree as well as to understand a new setting and time period. But the effort was well worth it. Each character came alive and after getting used to the structure, I could see the relationships through the generations. There was so much to talk about in book club.
Glorious, brilliant, gutting – I could not put it down.
Yaa Gyasi draws amazing characters in quick succession, tracing the history of one family from the eighteenth century to the present, as one half-sister is sold into slavery and sent to America and the other stays in Ghana. A heart-wrenching and breathtaking debut!
This is the kind of book that carries your soul! Uplifting. Challenging to the point of making your skin crawl, and humbling in its sheer grandeur. I mean, I started writing a long-winded review for this book several times but each time I gave up because the words felt inadequate. I stalled and stumbled because, simply put, this book is … brilliant! The breadth and depth of ‘Homegoing’ is astounding. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve ever read, like a long sensual stream of consciousness it possesses that perfect mix of amazing soulful writing, grit and heart-wrenching fervor, with a challenge to the reader – to get to know your history. Respect. This author is simply awe-inspiring, the scale of the project so praise-worthy. She ‘outs’ many brutal truths about slavery and the transatlantic slave trade and the development of a new country, the United States of America, that are more than difficult to bear, all weaved through the descendants of two sisters. She does this with incredible skill. In my opinion, 5 stars is simply inadequate. This is a ‘must’ read. It’s just that darn good!! I absolutely loved this book and Yaa Gyasi’s writing voice!!!
This book rocked me to the core.
It’s very hard to read. I don’t mean the writing, because that’s brilliant, I mean the content. It’s brutal and tragic and if you were watching it as a movie you’d probably close your eyes in parts.
Yaa Gyasi has written a story about two half-sisters living in Ghana three hundred years ago and who never meet. Gyasi has very cleverly traced the descendants from these two women. One sister, Effia is married off to an Englishman living in relative comfort in a castle whose dungeons deep below house her half-sister, Esi and many hundreds of others who wait to be shipped as slaves to America.
The cruel legacy of slavery affects each generation as does the picture of what it means to be seen as less of a human being because your skin happens to be a different colour. And if you’re also a woman, it’s even worse. The author takes us at first into the patriarchal village where men have several wives and many children. Tribes fight for power or territory and those captured are sold into slavery set up by British colonialization.
Luckily, there is a family tree to refer to. We are given short vignettes about each descendant and travel through time and place in Africa and to America until we reach current day. It’s a very clever structure and we quickly grow to know the characters well in a very short time. The stories themselves reveal the deprivations, betrayals, secrets and suffering. Yet, interwoven is an enormous amount of love binding them together. We travel through time, the Civil War, the end of slavery but not the end of racism.
“Whatchu done wrong?” H asked, returning his gaze to the white man.
Finally, the words came out. “I killed a man.”
“Killed a man, huh? You know what they got my friend Joey over there for? He ain’t cross the street when a white woman walk by. For that they gave him nine years (in jail). For killin’ a man they give you the same. We ain’t cons like you.”
As we reach current day, it almost feels biographical and perhaps it is. The author was born in Ghana and her family went to America when she was small. The ending however for me is probably the weakest part being perhaps a little too convenient but nevertheless it doesn’t lessen the impact.
Yes, it’s a tough read. But a necessary one to educate and remind us that every human being deserves respect regardless of their sex or colour or indeed, any other difference. This book shows us what happens when it doesn’t. If you know anyone who thinks otherwise, buy this book and get them to read it so they can walk in another’s shoes and know what it feels like. Or just buy it or read it just to remind yourself.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is a stunning book by an up and coming author. She happens to be a graduate of the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop and came recommended by my smart and poignant daughter. I actually read this book twice in one year. And I’d read it again. It’s just that good.
The story tracks the descendants of two half-sisters from a Ghanian matriarch during the height of tribal wars and slave trade. One sister, Effia, stays in Africa. The other, Esi, is sent to America on a slave ship. The novel cleverly weaves several short stories with unforgettable characters, African folklore, and history that would impact society for many decades. You’ll definitely want to bookmark the family tree at the beginning of the novel since it begins in the mid 1700’s and ends in current day.
Ms. Gyasi’s writing style is effortless, lyrical, and chock full of symbolic imagery. Themes of water, earth and fire pervade the book in a way that masterfully avoids cliche. To read this novel fast would be a crime, as there are so many lovely and thought-provoking passages. I was actually somewhat reminded of Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country. (In truth, my plan was to skim it the second time for book club. But I couldn’t. The language and the stories were meant to be absorbed.)
As an author and avid book reader, I will admit bias. But I strongly believe storytelling to be a critical aspect of human development. I almost feel it’s child neglect when parents don’t read to their children! And for anyone who only reads “non-fiction,” so as not to waste time with fluff, I ask them to reconsider. Don’t get me wrong, I love my share of non-fiction, but when a well-written narrative places you in an unfamiliar world and stirs you to genuinely sympathize, you cannot possibly discount the power of a story.
Such is Homegoing.
Obviously, the book reveals the oppression of Africans and African-Americans which sickens and disturbs. But. Ms. Gyasi never fails to pepper her stories with a lesson in morality and the glimmer of hope.
“You want to know what weakness is? Weakness is treating someone as thought they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves.”
–Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
As I read this I think to myself, how does one summon strength and courage through tragedy and persecution? I think of my own cushy, little life. I’m ashamed to admit the things that cause me anxiety. One of my book club friends mentioned how they thought the book was depressing. I responded that I thought it was important for us to hear these stories, to give us perspective. She tilted her head and thought about my comment. Later, she said that perhaps I was right.
“This it the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Those who were there in the olden days, they told stories to the children so that the children would know, so that the children could tell stories to their children. And so on, and so on.”
–Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
I keep thinking about family stories –and all those that become lost through the years. I have always loved to listen to my parents and grandparents tell stories. As I grow older and as relatives pass away, I crave those stories even more, especially as the memories and details of those stories fade. For example, there’s this story of an ancestor who left the Confederate Army and ended up fighting against his brothers. Who was he? What happened? I’d like to think his actions somehow formed my family’s sense of justice. Of course, I have no idea what really happened. But neither did Yaa. And she created a masterpiece worth telling over and over again.
There’s lots of stories needing to be told. And as long as we have ears, we need to listen.
The author dealt with difficult subject matter fairly. She also goes all the way back to Africa to explain the history of the slave trade and struggles of being uprooted from family for generations. Tragic and sad but really well written and helps you understand better rather than just blaming.
A very interesting novel with excellent character development.
This is a story which may be the autobiography of two familes from their roots in Africa (somewhere near by the Gold Coast to their current lives in the United States. The author was born in Ghana and grew up in Alabama. Wonderful story, not an angry woman but certainly a woman who wans the story told.
So much history – of families, cultures, nations and the world – packed into three-hundred pages reflecting the cruelty of minimizing or, worse, dehumanizing our fellow human beings. Yaa Gyasi does an exceptional job of telling a multi-character family story with such fluidity that I did not, at any point, feel confused or lost. She is an adept storyteller and her characters come to life through her skillful descriptions of appearance, personality and speech. I loved how the book moved through so many time periods and, in each, we are given glimpses into the particular struggles of different individuals. Often, it is personal stories such as these which provide the most effective history lesson. For anyone who doesn’t quite understand how the legacy of slavery can possibly have left its mark several generations down the line, this book illustrates with striking clarity. Without giving too much away, the juxtaposition of the lives and backgrounds of the two characters in the final chapters lays out so eloquently how some of us are never entirely “free” from our ancestral roots. Homegoing should be required reading for any U.S. history curriculum.
I think this book is a must read. Taking slavery from the mid 1700’s to all it’s consequences today, this books covers two families and how slavery affects them and all their descendants.. There is a huge case of characters so following a family tree is a must but it’s worth the effort. Slavery, racism, injustice are all important subjects especially important now in American’s history. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book flowed right along, the stories of each generation beautifully described.
Deeply moving story about two girls from Ghana: one who stays with a white slaver and one who is enslaved in America and the ties that bind them.
This is the best book I have ever read about Africa and the beginning of slavery in the US! At times it was tough to read, but do continue. The writing is wonderfully written and I will definitely look forward to reading more by this incredible author! This book will thrill you and chill you, but the writing is magical and wonderful. I can only wish that I were so talented! I cannot rave about it enough! Read it! It is beyond wonderful!!
This story is so good because it informs you about Ghanaian history, culture, and people.
One of the best books that I have read in a long time that traces 2 family members thru their ancestry.