Homegoing . . .

I've read a series of mediocre books this summer, so I was looking forward to the release of Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi.  It did not disappoint.

She's only 27 years old!

Homegoing, is about the descendants of two sisters born in The Gold Coast in the 1700's.  One sister marries a British man and lives in the Cape Coast slave castle, while the other sister is sold into slavery and passes through the dungeons of the same castle on the way to America.  The story is told in vignettes that describe the experiences of members of both families from the 18th century to the present day.  Much has been written about the impact of American slavery on the black family, but Homegoing demonstrates that the damage began in Africa as nations engaged in warfare and forced intermarriage in order to profit from the slave trade.

Yaa Gyasi's writing communicates the brutality of slavery and segregation without being gratuitously violent or sexual.  When Gyasi describes prison labor in the coal mines of Alabama her words are so vivid that you actually feel suffocated as you are reading them.  One weakness of the novel is that it does a better job of describing the impact of slavery on modern America than it does describing its impact on Ghana. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed reading Roots, Things Fall Apart, or Americanah read Homegoing.

*This post was edited by Chloe.  She said that I spent too much time describing the plot and that "the next time I do something like this" I should try not to spoil it for other people :/