Homegoing

Trade Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published April 8, 2017 by Vintage Books.

ISBN:
978-1-101-97106-2
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
989489858

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4 stars (9 reviews)

Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

Source: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533857/homegoing-by-yaa-gyasi/

22 editions

Macht süchtig

5 stars

"Heimkehren" von Yaa Gyasi hat mich von Anfang bis zum Ende in seinen Bann gezogen. Die Verästelung der Geschichten von zwei Halbschwestern, die aus den gleichen Wurzeln entspringen, aber völlig verschiedene Leben führen, ist faszinierend. Die Art und Weise, wie die Autorin die verschiedenen Zweige dieses komplexen Stammbaums miteinander verknüpft, ist beeindruckend.

Die Geschichte war durchweg spannend, und ich konnte kaum aufhören zu lesen. Es stimmt, dass es gelegentlich verwirrend sein kann, auf welchem Ast des Stammbaums man sich gerade befindet. Doch diese Verwirrung trägt auf gewisse Weise zur Tiefe und Komplexität der Erzählung bei.

Die erste Geschichte hat mir bereits gut gefallen, und ich finde den Schreibstil von Yaa Gyasi äußerst ansprechend. Sie versteht es, die Emotionen und die Tiefe der Charaktere auf eindrucksvolle Weise darzustellen. Insgesamt hat sich die Lektüre von "Heimkehren" definitiv gelohnt, und ich bin beeindruckt davon, wie die Autorin die Leben dieser beiden Halbschwestern so …

Stimulating and Entrancing

5 stars

This book gripped me immediately. A wonderfully written dive into how the slave trade effected and shaped not just the Americas, but also the land the slaves came from. I was enamored in how each generation built on the tragedy and triumphs of the previous generations. I also honestly appreciated that the book wasn't the equivalent of trauma porn, with moments of joy and achievement throughout.

I remember I finished this book on my lunch break at work, and I literally gasped in joy at the ending, as I felt it was the best way that things could have ended.

This book brought me so much joy, as well as great insight into the Black experience through the years and how each historical era changed things.

I've been verbally recommending this book to everyone, and now I'll do it online too.

Review of 'Homegoing' on 'Import'

1 star

Not sure if I'm missing something (the reviews are all good), but the prose and character development in these linked stories offered nothing for me. The stories are connected, one generation to the next, from the history of the gold coast slave trade to modern America, but each trudges along with an aimlessness and a lack of involvement that is frustrating to read. The dialogue lacked reality, and crafted badly drawn stereotypes instead of individuals. The history of this era is more engaging and interesting to read than this is, in novel/short story form.

Review of 'Homegoing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is Yaa Gyasi's award-winning debut novel--and she was only 26 years old. That in itself is fascinating. I will certainly be following her career.

Homegoing is a stunning accomplishment, covering some 25o years and eight generations, illustrating the devastation of families and culture caused by the slave trade, and creating inspirational characters along the way.

It starts as the story of two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, whose lives follow two very different paths: one is married to a British officer who is involved in the slave trade, while the other is captured to be sold into slavery in America. Each chapter is a story about a descendant, and these stories alternate between Africa (what is now Ghana) and the United States.

There is wisdom in these pages that is memorable and will stay with me for quite some time. I'd recommend this novel to absolutely anyone.

Review of 'Homegoing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

An incredible, powerful book. I’ve seen some who say this book is a page-turner. For me, the subject matter was so difficult that I had to take a break at the end of every chapter.

Two half-sisters who have never met are the two branches of a family tree that spans two continents over eight generations, from the early years of colonization in the 18th century, through slavery, emancipation, independence, and through to the beginning of our century. The book follow the tragedies and victories of those who were shipped as slaves across the ocean to America, and those who took part in the enslavement of their brethren and remained in the Gold Coast in Western Africa to fight for their own freedom.

This meticulously researched and vividly presented story, a marvelous debut, makes no attempt to sugar coat any of the horrors the two branches went through and partook …

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