Homegoing - Supernormal Reads

Paperback, 320 pages

Published by Anchor Canada.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-68615-0

(1 review)

Homegoing is the debut historical fiction novel by Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi, published in 2016. Each chapter in the novel follows a different descendant of an Asante woman named Maame, starting with her two daughters, who are half-sisters, separated by circumstance: Effia marries James Collins, the British governor in charge of Cape Coast Castle, while her half-sister Esi is held captive in the dungeons below. Subsequent chapters follow their children and following generations.

The novel was selected in 2016 for the National Book Foundation's "5 under 35" award, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for best first book, and was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2017. It received the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for 2017, an American Book Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature.

27 editions

ralentina reviewed Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

A multigenerational saga against the backdrop of colonialism and its legacy

3 stars

More than a novel, it is a collection of short stories moving from generation to generation, from the age of slave trade in Ghana to present day USA. This structure is both effective and frustrating. It's effective because it allows the author (and the readers) to explore the connections between colonialism, slavery, black-labour exploitation, civil-rights battles, and today's racism. It's frustrating because some stories are so short that they feel like necessary links, or vignettes, without leaving the time to "grow emotions" for the characters. Some of the plot-patterns in the book were also a bit forced and already-seen (for those who read the book already: black stones, romantic resolution...). That said, it was a fine read and an important one, delving into the horrors of colonialism.