Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

98 reviews

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

4.5

This book was an absolute epic. The ambition and talent that went into this - and a debut as well!
It was gut-wrenching and tragic and criminally cruel, and heart-achingly stunning/heavy all at the same time.
Full of individual experiences - all including prejudice, discrimination and injustice - of about 250 years and seven generations. The subtlety of our world’s history and relationship with racism lives on to this day, and we cannot deny that or deny the history lesson that this book provides so vividly and thoroughly.

Favourite stories/chapters out of the 14 would have to be Ness, Kojo and H.
I need this to be required reading. But I also acknowledge the very heavy subject of colonialism and white superiority complexes. It is confronting but that’s how reality works… 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Excrement, War, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Drug use, Torture, Vomit, Rape, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Racism, and Religious bigotry

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Confinement, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Classism, Terminal illness, and Rape

kimberlynpeterson50's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This sweeping novel begins during the late 1700s slave trade in Ghana to present day. The two women whose stories we follow never meet, their journeys acting as sliding doors to different lives - one enslaved, one marrying a slaver. Thank goodness for the family tree, which I referenced frequently as I read. Gyasi details generation after generation of these women’s descendants, never directly looping back to share what eventually happened, but revealing outcomes through their children. This is a powerful demonstration of generational trauma, through both plot and character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Drug abuse, and Colonisation

itsmaryssae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Slavery, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Rape, Mental illness, Torture, and Racial slurs

fionafsw's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was an epic spanning generations and continents, showing how we are the product of our history and how trauma doesn't get erased with every new generation but instead accumulates. Each character and her/his story was immensely interesting in and of itself and of course in connection with all the others to create a multi-century history featuring, through a feminist lens, the deepest shames of humanity (namely the slave trade and all related injustices). Well-written and a very rewarding read. I'd love to read more from Gyasi in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Drug use, Slavery, Sexual assault, Deportation, Abandonment, Death of parent, Trafficking, Police brutality, and Death

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Sexism, War, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Torture, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Body horror, Blood, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying

linhsreadinghour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful beautiful historical fiction novel that follows the descendants of two sisters and how the decisions of each family member impacted the next. The writing was gorgeous and hooked me right in. Despite following each character for one chapter each time, Yaa Gyasi doesn’t fail to explore the intricacies and conflicts of their own lives, whilst weaving in the historical context and significance of the time period. Stunning book and so illuminating as a non-black person. Will become a classic in the future no doubt, a must read for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Rape

chuck3791's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

• 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

4.0

A pretty great about inherited trauma. Worthwhile but I will definitely not be reading it again and would only recommend with heavy caution

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Rape, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Addiction, and Grief

serenspace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Addiction, and Slavery

This book is structured in an intricate, fleeting way that relayed entire lifetimes in twenty pages or less. It took a few chapters to get used to the generational jumps and the unfinished stories that preceeded them, but what Gyasi chooses to tell us and what she chooses to leave behind is carefully selected to convey the primary themes of grief, history as a map and generational trauma. Each member of this family has a rich inner life that carries the weight of the Gold Coast all the way to present day America, each significant in their own right and as part of this intricate story. Gyasi's voice is, as always, reflective, a perfect conveyor for such a grand history. She has an immense talent for building an image of the world as a collective effort, more than any one person can bring to it.

nad_books623's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

As an African American and descendants of slaves this book was amazing.

I did not expect them to meet to meet at the end. I was so shocked to read that Marcus met Marjorie. The ending was everything and I did not think it would connect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Drug use

Moderate: Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia