‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort in the sprawling, palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle, raising half-caste children who will be sent abroad to be educated in England before returning to the Gold Coast to serve as administrators of the Empire. Her sister Esi, will be imprisoned beneath Effia, in the Castle’s women’s dungeon, and then shipped off on a boat bound for America, where she will be sold into slavery.

This debut novel has an excellent rating on Goodreads and comes highly recommended, but I hesitated reading it because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to read another book about slavery. However, I’m glad I did because it is so much more than that. Although difficult to read at times (only because what happened was brutal) this contemporary historical fiction not only delivers some unforgettable characters subject to forces beyond their control, it also ties in some origins of systemic racism and explores themes of identity and belonging. The unique structure of the novel felt a bit disjointed at first, but eventually flowed as each new character quickly won my heart.

Keeping the family tree chart handy while reading was essential. Since I was reading on ebook, I took a picture of the family tree page for easy reference on my phone. Each chapter of the novel is narrated by a descendant of either Effia or Esi, one representative for each generation, and the two bloodlines alternate up to the present day. Moving effortlessly through unhealed histories and geographies, I really wondered how Gyasi would be able to forge an ending to the book, but she did, and it was brilliant.

The author was born in Ghana and raised in Alabama. Homegoing was inspired by a 2009 trip to Ghana, Gyasi’s first since leaving the country as an infant. She has a BA from Stanford and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has won multiple awards for her writing. I’m looking forward to reading Yaa Gyasi’s second novel called Transcendent Kingdom which was published more recently.