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A review by findingmontauk1
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Every moment has a precedent and comes from this other moment, that comes from this other moment, that comes from this other moment.” - Yaa Gyasi
Where do I even begin to review this masterpiece? HOMEGOING is a story that follows two half-sisters (who did not know each other) and the generations to follow each of them. We begin with the Fante and Asante nations and see these families expand separately into the United States and modern day Ghana. One sister marries a white man and lives in a castle while the other is sold into slavery in the castle's own dungeon. We see how this divided family leads two totally different generational paths only to ultimately reconnect full-circle hundreds of years later. We see how slavery has impacted both timelines and places directly as well as indirectly.
Each chapter is a different story from a child in the next generation but the bloodline connections remain. This book was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Each chapter and character had their own hardships and victories. But each character left behind their own legacy for the future.
This is a powerful debut novel. My heart hurts reading this story and I am changed by this book. I read it after Transcendent Kingdom, which is also a great story, so now I understand more of what people were referencing and talking about when discussing TK as compared to Homegoing and the emotions evoked.
"Weakness is treating someone as though they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves."
Where do I even begin to review this masterpiece? HOMEGOING is a story that follows two half-sisters (who did not know each other) and the generations to follow each of them. We begin with the Fante and Asante nations and see these families expand separately into the United States and modern day Ghana. One sister marries a white man and lives in a castle while the other is sold into slavery in the castle's own dungeon. We see how this divided family leads two totally different generational paths only to ultimately reconnect full-circle hundreds of years later. We see how slavery has impacted both timelines and places directly as well as indirectly.
Each chapter is a different story from a child in the next generation but the bloodline connections remain. This book was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Each chapter and character had their own hardships and victories. But each character left behind their own legacy for the future.
This is a powerful debut novel. My heart hurts reading this story and I am changed by this book. I read it after Transcendent Kingdom, which is also a great story, so now I understand more of what people were referencing and talking about when discussing TK as compared to Homegoing and the emotions evoked.
"Weakness is treating someone as though they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves."