Homegoing: Review

Yaa Gyasi takes the reader on a multigenerational journey, starting in the 18th century with two half sisters born in Ghana.

The sisters grow up, never knowing one another to live very different lives based on their circumstances. One, marries an Englishman and lives in the Cape Coast Castle, while the other is captured and after being imprisoned in the same castle, is sold into slavery in America.

Uniquely structured, Homegoing introduces a new perspective from the next descendant of the of the sisters in each chapter. Alternating, the journey takes the reader through eight generations and depicts the time, struggle, and progression of each line. Gyasi fully submerges the reader in each story, helping to piece together what happened to those taken from Ghana as well as to those that stayed.

A well-researched account of the slave trade, colonization, religion, slavery & segregation in America, convict labor, and more are all covered within the realm of the multigeneration stories shared. Homegoing is a novel that will bring light to the history behind slavery, as well as the continued racism still present in today’s society. The pain and hurt in these stories seep into the reader’s soul to stay.

Normally, I struggle with books that attempt to include so many different perspectives, but with Homegoing, I felt as if I was living the history of two sisters who never knew one another. So many parallels exist in the stories, though one sister remained in Ghana while the other was sold to into slavery in America. The unique usage of perspective makes this book stand out from others, and doesn’t leave the reader wondering what happened to the next generation because Yaa Gyasi takes the reader along with each character.

The fluidity of Homegoing surprised me, as I thought I would struggle to read through such painful experiences and with every chapter coming from a new character but instead I was unable to put the book down until I finished it. Even then, I held on to it a bit longer, reflecting on the immense amount of history shared in only 300 pages.