Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - Homegoing

I can't help but wonder if this proverb is what inspired this story in the first place because it is just that perfect.⁠

This book spans 8 generations across 2 family lines, and for each person, you get a small peek into their life—into their place in something greater than themselves. Gyasi does a brilliant job of inviting you in and capturing the essence of each person's life in small clips while still moving the family's story along: it felt like a compilation of short stories that make up one brilliant novel (a bunch of individually awe-inspiring trees that make up a beautiful forest). ⁠

I will say, there were times in this book where I wanted more information about each of the individual family members. I wanted to see how they healed (or didn't) from certain life challenges, so I really had to pull myself back a few times and remember that this book was meant to be the lineage's story (not the individual's). That was hard at times, but helped me enjoy the read more in the end.

I read this as a buddy read which, turns out, was a really great choice. ⁠This book is only ~300 pages, but each chapter packs a punch, and being able to pace this book out and having space to process it with another thoughtful/empathic human helped to integrate this book in a way that I'm not sure would have happened on my own.⁠

It was a beautiful, emotional novel that made me feel like my heart was melting and being molded back together all at once. Highly recommend if you're in a deep-feeling kind of reading mood.⁠

Please note: I didn't take notes on content warnings as I was reading, so please don't use the ones in my review as an exhaustive list.⁠ This book covers a lot of hard and triggering topics, though, including those I listed in my review. If you are thinking of picking up this book (especially if you're in a sensitive emotional space) please, please, please 🙏🏻 make a plan to care for your emotions while reading this.
⁠ ⁠

Content Warnings

mitzireads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring 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

Content Warnings

alongbookshelf's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

quirpele's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

laurikas's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Even though the themes covered by this book are some of the worst in our history, it was a majestic read.

I am so impressed by this story and the whole premise of this book, I was hooked from the very beginning. I wish there was more of it - the characters were so well developed that you felt you knew them, and my heart was broken many times, but also inspired. Freed.

Content Warnings

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