Homegoing
Gyasi, YaaIt starts with sisters Effia and Esi: Effia with marriage to an English slave trader and Esi, sold as a slave and shipped to the Americas. From 1700s Gold Coast Africa to present day USA, the family bloodline expands over three continents and through seven generations.
Using a domestic focus to trace the history of the US and Ghana, this compelling and memorable saga is rich in African culture and reverberates with the fraught legacy of slavery. [Small font]
Pages
305
305
Year
2016
2016
Reviews
08-11-2022
We enjoyed the content and writing of this book. The only downside was the structure - jumping from one story to the next. We had to keep going back to the family tree. Very illuminating about African American family stories.
29-06-2022
A mixed reaction to this book; comments included a wish for more in depth coverage of the characters.
16-06-2022
Incredible book! We all loved it, very easy to read. Well-written and incredibly moving.
08-06-2022
All of us read the book and answered all of the questions! Great discussion from a book a few of us would have picked up at the library, but glad it opened up a topic that was well-written and engaging. Glad to have the genealogy map which helped as we moved backward and forward in time.
01-06-2022
We enjoyed this although some members were upset about some of the content and what happened to people in those times and situations. One member didn't like it because each chapter was about a new person and she felt that it was like a series of short stories. It didn't bother the rest of us and those who read it, agreed it was just the style of writing. Great discussion and we were pleased that we had read it.
22-04-2022
Everyone found the book most interesting, albeit a bit harrowing in parts. The book provoked lots of discussion.
24-09-2021
An interesting, if harrowing, depiction of the history of the slave trade. It took us a while to get used to the way it was written, with a different character being focused on in a new generation, but overall an engaging read.
22-09-2021
Another read that some of our members enjoyed and others not so much. We did find the many characters quite confusing at times, but found it really interesting learning more about African history.
15-09-2021
We haven't met to discuss because of lockdown, but a few have mentioned how much they enjoyed this.
14-09-2021
This book was unanimously liked by our group. The writing is superb and we learned so much about the intergenerational effects of slavery. We understood better the impact of the slave trade at 'home' in Africa also. Each chapter left you wanting to know more about that particular descendant, but we felt this was more due to the strength of the writing and not a failure of the construction of the story.
20-05-2021
Because the author was spanning 7 generations, it was a bit disjointed to read. Each part was about a different character which meant you were just getting involved in their life when it ended abruptly. But still, an enjoyable book.