A review by caprivoyant
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Just... Beautiful.

 At the start of the book, Gyasi writes an Akan proverb that translates to: 

"The family is like the forest: if you are outside it is dense; if you are inside you see that each tree has its own position."

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. 
⁠ ⁠ 

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