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A review by nannahnannah
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
4.0
"Homegoing" is less a novel (as it says on the cover) than a connected series of short stories covering two lines of ancestors stemming from one single woman: Maame, from Ghana.
I've never read anything like this. It covers three hundred years, beginning in Ghana, and splitting to become an American story as well. Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, are Maame's daughters who live in two different villages in Ghana. And that's where their stories diverge. Esi is sold as a slave and shipped to America, while Effia stays in Ghana.
Esi's children are born into slavery in America, and her line continues through the Civil War, jazz clubs, dope houses, coal mines, etc., right up to contemporary America. And Effia's ancestors in Ghana deal with wars between the Fante and Asante nations--not to mention all the while struggling with British colonization.
I'm not going to lie, this book was ... heavy. Hard to read during several parts (maybe most of the book?), but it was ultimately worth it. Will I read it again? Maybe not, but I don't regret reading it.
Every character is uniquely interesting, flawed, real, and compelling. Even when I disliked someone, I still wanted to read more about their story. Yaa Gyasi is an incredible character writer. Each character is also somehow connected to every person that came before them, somehow haunted, maybe. One line of the ancestry with fire, one line with water.And at the end, they meet together in the Most satisfying way!
This is the shortest review ever, and I told you maybe nothing of my actual opinions on it, but that's okay. It took me a couple days to even write this much. It wasn't even the "heaviest" of books, but I can't really gather my thoughts here. The writing is wonderful, and the whole book is constructed in a beautiful, impactful way. I guess that's enough.
I've never read anything like this. It covers three hundred years, beginning in Ghana, and splitting to become an American story as well. Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, are Maame's daughters who live in two different villages in Ghana. And that's where their stories diverge. Esi is sold as a slave and shipped to America, while Effia stays in Ghana.
Esi's children are born into slavery in America, and her line continues through the Civil War, jazz clubs, dope houses, coal mines, etc., right up to contemporary America. And Effia's ancestors in Ghana deal with wars between the Fante and Asante nations--not to mention all the while struggling with British colonization.
I'm not going to lie, this book was ... heavy. Hard to read during several parts (maybe most of the book?), but it was ultimately worth it. Will I read it again? Maybe not, but I don't regret reading it.
Every character is uniquely interesting, flawed, real, and compelling. Even when I disliked someone, I still wanted to read more about their story. Yaa Gyasi is an incredible character writer. Each character is also somehow connected to every person that came before them, somehow haunted, maybe. One line of the ancestry with fire, one line with water.
This is the shortest review ever, and I told you maybe nothing of my actual opinions on it, but that's okay. It took me a couple days to even write this much. It wasn't even the "heaviest" of books, but I can't really gather my thoughts here. The writing is wonderful, and the whole book is constructed in a beautiful, impactful way. I guess that's enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Domestic abuse
also: ableist slurs