In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth I’m highlighting a favorite novel that I read before I started writing reviews, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Genre/Categories/Settings: Historical (and Contemporary) Fiction, Multigenerational Family Saga, Family Life, Diverse Read, Africa, Ghana, African American Literature, locations in the U.S.

I’m linking up this review with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #ThrowBackThursday. Homegoing is a book I read before I started blogging in 2017. I always wished I had written a review for this memorable book, so here it is now for Throw Back Thursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary of Homegoing:

Homegoing is a multigenerational family saga that covers three hundred years of family history. The story begins in eighteenth-century Ghana when two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born in different villages. Effia is given to an Englishman in marriage and lives comfortably in Cape Coast Castle. Esi is sold into the Gold Coast’s slave trade and shipped off to America. The story follows the descendants of both sisters in alternating chapters.

My Thoughts:

It’s Complex–Take Notes!

My most important advice to enhance your reading experience is to take notes! Even though I had notes, it took some mental gymnastics to connect myself with the right family at the beginning of each chapter. I don’t say this to discourage you, I’m simply offering a tip to facilitate and enhance your reading experience. Homegoing is a complex and challenging read that is definitely worth your effort.

The Structure

Once you acclimate to the structure, the story will be easier to follow. Alternating chapters follow the lives and descendants of Effia and Esi. Each chapter represents a new generation and contains a vignette of a family member in that generation. It’s an effective structure for a complex multigenerational saga. However, one downside is that there are some vignettes that I wasn’t ready to leave! As you become used to these vignettes, it becomes easier to move on knowing you’ll also become attached to other characters down the line. I had to continually remind myself that this is a “big-picture” story of one family over three hundred years….an overview. I think it would be interesting to do something like this in my own family if I had the information and the time!

The story eventually ends with the present-day generation, and the story ties together in a heartfelt, unique, hopeful, and special way.

Reflection

Among the many thoughtful themes and embedded history, there is one reflection I want to mention. Education: the sister who marries an Englishman has the benefit of an education for her children. This education makes all the difference in her family through the generations. The sister who is sold into slavery cannot provide the privilege of education for her children, and the loss of that is experienced for generations. It’s amazing to think about how access to education in early generations benefits future generations. In the present day, the descendants of each sister have access to education and gain brighter hope for their futures.

Debut

It amazes me that this is Yaa Gyasi’s debut! Not only that, she was twenty-six when she wrote this!

Content Consideration: difficult and disturbing content involving captivity and slavery

Recommending Homegoing

Homegoing is on my list of favorite book recommendations and topped my best-of-year list in 2017. If you are looking for a thought-provoking. compelling, and diverse story by an author of color, please consider this one!

Related: I very much enjoyed Gyasi’s next thoughtful book, Transcent Kingdom.

My Rating:  5  Stars

Meet the Author of Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi

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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QOTD:

Is this multigenerational saga on your TBR or have you read it?

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Happy Reading Book Buddies!

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