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A review by dreamersmind
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.25
This book is tragic. There were many times that I had to put the book down and sit with my thoughts. This book follows generational lines of 2 half sisters that did not know each other. One sister was the wife of a British slave trader and the other was taken prisoner and sold into slavery in the USA. Each chapter is a different person in the following generation and the stories span over about 250 years. We get important snippets of each persons lives that weave a story that gives a clear picture of how colonialism, slavery and systemic racism affected real life people in each time period and how the actions and history of the past continue to affect the present and future generations.
Quotes:
“You think you know but you don’t know, “she said. “Evil is like a shadow. It follows you”
“Trust is a thing to be earned. I don’t trust you. I have seen what power can do to men, and you are from one of the most powerful families.”
“This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Those who were there in the olden days, they told stories to the children so that the children would know, so that the children could tel stories to their children. And so on and so on. But now we come upon the problem of conflicting stories. Kojo Nayeli says that when the warriors came to his village their coats were red, but Kwame Adu says that they were blue. Whose story do we believe then? The boys were silent. They stared at him, waiting. We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out you must find that story too. From there you begin to get a clearer yet still imperfect picture”
Quotes:
“You think you know but you don’t know, “she said. “Evil is like a shadow. It follows you”
“Trust is a thing to be earned. I don’t trust you. I have seen what power can do to men, and you are from one of the most powerful families.”
“This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Those who were there in the olden days, they told stories to the children so that the children would know, so that the children could tel stories to their children. And so on and so on. But now we come upon the problem of conflicting stories. Kojo Nayeli says that when the warriors came to his village their coats were red, but Kwame Adu says that they were blue. Whose story do we believe then? The boys were silent. They stared at him, waiting. We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out you must find that story too. From there you begin to get a clearer yet still imperfect picture”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Slavery, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide