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A review by amandabethrose
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
What an absolutely beautiful book. We begin with two sisters, born from the same mother but have never met, whose lives follow starkly different paths. One marries a white man and lives at the Cape Coast Castle, one is sold into slavery and imprisoned at the Castle before being sent across the Atlantic to America. Each chapter is a snapshot into the life of their descendants, alternating between the family lines.
There is a line in the second chapter around which the story unfolds, "And in my village we have a saying about separated sisters. They are like a woman and her reflection, doomed to stay on opposite sides of the pond." Each story is a mirror of what could have been. What if they had been able to live in Ghana, what if they had been ripped away. Without giving too much away, the story does end with the threads coming together and the family saga returning full circle to where it began.
Absolutely gorgeous prose and an excellent balance of leaving me wishing for more, while being completely satisfied with the story given.
There is a line in the second chapter around which the story unfolds, "And in my village we have a saying about separated sisters. They are like a woman and her reflection, doomed to stay on opposite sides of the pond." Each story is a mirror of what could have been. What if they had been able to live in Ghana, what if they had been ripped away. Without giving too much away, the story does end with the threads coming together and the family saga returning full circle to where it began.
Absolutely gorgeous prose and an excellent balance of leaving me wishing for more, while being completely satisfied with the story given.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Self harm