Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Homegoing

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

155 reviews

waterbear0821's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a really beautiful book. It’s also brutal, but—particularly if you are a white American—don’t let that deter you. Sometimes fiction can make hard truths even more true and this book feels absolutely true. The story is told as one chapter for each character as you move generation by generation into the near present. At first it was a bit of a challenge because I felt like a was missing so much jumping over years (not to mention that it was, no spoiler warning needed I hope, incredibly violent and horrific because it’s about the slave trade). However, as I got into it, I found the generational snapshots to be very effective and more than sufficient for me to be invested in the characters. The writing is wonderful. The story is terrible and beautiful and, in the end, hopeful. Whether you know a lot or not much about the history of slavery in Africa and America and its lingering generational scars, highly recommend this book.

Content Warnings

bashsbooks's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't have words for how incredible Homegoing is. The blurb cannot do justice to the journey it takes you on. Two Ghanaian half-sisters with divergent paths (one as a wife to a white colonizer and slaver, the other captured and sold into slavery) is only the beginning. This book follows Effia and Esi's lineage for seven generations, one line primarily in Ghana and one line primarily in the United States. It is a sizzering, raw, unflinchingly honest depiction of the experience and the legacy of the slave trade, in all its awful minutia; the creation and the evolution of the systems that still oppress black people. Truly, I've never seen a clearer depiction of generational trauma. It's incredible. That's all I can say. Cannot recommend enough.

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alt05's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

Yaa Gyasi has easily become one of my favorite authors with this debut novel. I was gifted this book several years ago, and for some reason could never bring myself to pick it up. I think it's because this book is about the impact of the transatlantic slave trade, and I knew it would be an emotional read for me. And, I was right. The way Gyasi breaks this story down is so unique, it requires much from the reader. This book is about 2 African girls in the early 1700s who are fathered by the same man, though only one knows her real father. The other is raised by her mother who escaped with her to be rid of the abuse she endured. It follows these 2 young women's lineage as one is married to a white, slave trader living on the gold coast, and the other is captured and sold into slavery. As the reader follows their families into the 20th century, they are intimately exposed to the toll that slavery had on both those taken and those left behind. The histories of each branch are slowly forgotten as the family moves further and further away from the women who birthed them all. Gyasi masterfully weaves together history, spirituality, and family across this multigenerational, historical novel. Her writing is emotional and moving, but also lyrical in its form. It took me several days after reading this to be able to put into words all I was feeling. This book makes you think about how much Black people have lost both materially and unseeing.

Content Warnings