Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

43 reviews

renee_alwanda's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

While i found the premise interesting and appreciate it's willingness to illuminate the horrors of slavery, i think the execution was done quite  mediocrely. We are thrown into the narrative so abruptly and introduced to a plethora of characters and backstories which are hard to keep up with, I felt the story jumped from one character arc to another with out satisfyingly tying up the previous one, thus each character arc and their significance is not fully exploited. Also it was incredibly sexually explicit, which i feel added no value whatsoever to the narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, and Rape

sweekune's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I went into this book blind, based on a friend's recommendation and the vague description of "It's about two black sisters and their descendents. It's sooo good." I'm not sure "good" is the right word for the raw, serrated emotions this book brought from me. I cried with almost every chapter and have come away forever changed by this book.

- Each chapter has a different point of view, starting with the original sisters and flowing down the generations to modern day. You feel the weight of the ancestor's experience influencing the lives of the descendents. Despite the short time spent with each protagonist, the author's writing draws you in and you feel in your heart for each and every one of them.

- This book documents extremely well the challenges of black people from the slave trade, colonialism, segregation, gaining independence, workers' rights, drug addiction and so much more. This is the sort of book that should be studied in schools and used to spark discussions on history and the awful things white people did (and still do) to black people and forge a better future.

- The language used is beautiful and Gyasi's prose paints all these places and points in time so it's like you're there. The ending of one chapter almost made me vomit the imagery was so strong. It takes amazing skill to write something that produces such a visceral reaction and I am in awe of her talent.

Absolutely and irrevocably scarring in the best way. I will carry Homegoing with me for a long time and I felt it within me. Everyone should read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

eva_lucchino's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

rosalind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

‘In my village we have a saying about separated sisters. They are like a woman and her reflection, doomed to stay on opposite sides of the pond.’

I’m in a peculiar position because I cannot say I enjoyed this book, but I feel that it was, unequivocally, a 5-star read. One reviewer on here said it made one of the strongest conceivable cases for reparations and black rage, and I agree. This book made me sick to my stomach multiple times. At times I didn’t know how or if I could finish it. But that’s kinda the point. Through the stories contained within this book, Yaa Gyasi has breathed personhood back into history, removing impediments to empathy and reporting the horror of what people with my skin colour are responsible for. The prose is perfectly chosen, parsimonious yet evocative, frank about suffering without embellishment. 

I’m generally not good at very sad storylines because I’m an ✨empath✨ who is ✨highly sensitive✨ with a very susceptible imagination. As a result, sometimes I find stories tough to shake off at the end of a reading session. But it feels right in this case; I want these stories to live in my memory, because they represent so many souls whose time was snatched, made torturous, wasted, ruined, eviscerated, at the hands of colonisers and their descendants. I do not want to forget.

In terms of the writing, I did find it a bit hard to keep up with who was who, especially in the first half of the novel, and was very grateful for the family tree to consult in the front of the book. One could almost call ‘Homegoing’ a collection of interconnected short stories or vignettes, which I think would have been helpful to know going in. Similarly, it only dawned on me towards the last few chapters re. the running themes of fire and water as polar opposites yet fellow elements, equal in their capacity for destruction and redemption. I’d recommend looking out for those through-lines; part of me wants to re-read it so I can better appreciate these connections. But I know I just can’t face it. As I’ve said about some of the most impactful work I’ve consumed in my life: I’m very grateful I read it, and I hope never to see it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Confinement, Colonisation, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

divaninoor's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking book at the same time. The author is a master at the multiple POV format of the book- despite the large amount of characters, I feel that every character was given proper attention in developing their personality, flaws, etc. I don't think any character was half-assed or used as a filler. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Drug abuse

sarahlizzie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

flysick's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

msennflinn's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

"A hatred like a bag filled with stones, one stone for every year racial injustice continued to be the norm in America. He still carried the bag."

If you haven't read Yaa Gyasi's "Homegoing", please don't wait. It's a living, breathing history in such a pure form. Each character in the story is connected, in some ways big, some small, but Yaa does an amazing job pulling these stories together throughout, especially at the end!

If you dare to call yourself an ally to people of color, specifically black folx, consider this book required reading. I promise you won't regret it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

mandkips's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Death, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Child death, Child abuse, Genocide, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, and Infertility

alongbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I thought this book was amazing. The writing is truly so beautiful, simple yet elegant and every word adds to the story in a meaningful way. Each chapter is narrated in a different POV, each character descending from one of two bloodlines. One woman remained in Africa, another sold to slave owners in America. The characters represent different existences as a black person in either country, all with a collective unconscious, memories, and visions of ancestors. I think it's incredibly difficult to link smaller, shorter stories that attempt to encompass the entirety of someone's life and being and THEN link those to a larger, more holistic view of a group of people. In my opinion, Gyasi did an incredible job doing exactly that. Each character has their own storyline, but is inevitably connected to their home, their family, their life. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence