Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

48 reviews

emilyosterloh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The plot description was super enticing and I'm very glad that I read this book. Gyasi is a talented writer, with just enough detail to make a reader feel as if they're present but also concise. The concept of reading through the family lines of two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, from Ghana in the 18th century who end up in different circumstances makes for a story that covers a wide range of themes, all of which are incredibly important and worth discussing. This book was not light, per se, but it wasn't overbearing either. Learning more about the history of a voice that is so missing from our typical educational curriculum is essential in my opinion, so I appreciated all the items this novel explored. It was an insightful collection of stories that I found created one cohesive story and the connections between each were plentiful. Each chapter is a glimpse into the life of members in Effia and Esi's lineage, and I loved the format of this book. 

Effia has an unfortunate past, especially seeing the way most of her family treats her, and though she lives well in a castle after being married off to a British soldier, her life is far from perfect. Esi may have had it even worse, as we see how young she was brought into the dungeon of the castle and traded as a slave, after watching it happen secondhand as a child. 

From then on, we switch back and forth between the descendants of each sister, which I loved because it allows the reader to draw comparisons and contrasts. In their lived experiences, they come upon themes such as exploration of sexuality, colorism, the absolute treachery of slavery, complicity, true love, independence, family ties, self-discovery, fatigue, privilege, persistence, superstition, police brutality, convict labor, unions and strikes, influences of religion (especially Christianity), colonialism, imperialism, loss, the continuation of evil, closure, addiction, and most of all, TRAUMA. The final descendant we read about really indicates the beginnings of a full circle completion, though I will not say much more than that. While I have just given a laundry list of themes, I was appreciative of their incorporation into these stories and found that each descendant brought great impact upon their offspring. It was also really fascinating to learn about cultures including Asante and Fante, and to see the stories spread over so many areas - we start in Ghana (and we come back to it), but we also travel to many cities in America, from the south to the north and even to the west when we look at every descendant's vignette. 

I've read reviews saying people believed the stories were too separated and not enough happened - and while I do admit there is a part of me that wishes I could have read more about many of the characters' lives, I also think it is valuable to have read what we received and I sometimes find that leaving things open can be good to turn the gears in our brains, at least in my opinion. My first 2025 book club read and the year is off to an excellent start. This read is important, especially in our political climate, and I would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, and War

confexxi_history's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The book is as captivating as it is heartbreaking. We find ourselves thinking of all these families and all these people who have been in the same situation and who have lived and live the horror of History.

I learned a lot from the different historical periods narrated in this novel. I highly recommend it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Homophobia, Torture, and Police brutality

Minor: Violence and Sexual harassment

hxcpanda's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really impressive piece of work and enjoyable despite having a pretty rigid structure that only allows us a brief time with each character. Clearly well researched and covered a large breadth of the social issues and consequences of slavery not just on the USAmerican side where we tend to focus but equally on the African side for a balanced approach. I also enjoyed how it seemed to get a bit meta toward the end, and you could really see not only what the author was getting at but how they felt about creating this work. 

Also, the narration in the audiobook was great. It took me till I was almost finished with it to notice the switch in accents between the African and American characters' stories but that was a neat aspect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Homophobia

eliisar's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, and War

Minor: Homophobia

leahb88's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is so gorgeous. The way that each person’s story is woven into the whole narrative to show the impact of colonialism. I loved how the author really emphasized the importance of place, land, and community. It felt like the characters continually returned to their ancestors, sometimes in small or indirect ways, but it left you with the feeling that we are all connected and each have an impact on each other.
It might be a bit difficult to read for some because of trying to keep all the characters and timelines straight, but there’s a family tree at the beginning and I found that the chapters were laid out in a way that made it pretty easy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness

sparklefarm's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Really incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Excrement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and War

Minor: Homophobia

merakiforest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Gore, and Mental illness

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kendal_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

cecereads__'s review against another edition

5.0

This book was an absolute epic. The ambition and talent that went into this - and a debut as well!
It was gut-wrenching and tragic and criminally cruel, and heart-achingly stunning/heavy all at the same time.
Full of individual experiences - all including prejudice, discrimination and injustice - of about 250 years and seven generations. The subtlety of our world’s history and relationship with racism lives on to this day, and we cannot deny that or deny the history lesson that this book provides so vividly and thoroughly.

Favourite stories/chapters out of the 14 would have to be Ness, Kojo and H.
I need this to be required reading. But I also acknowledge the very heavy subject of colonialism and white superiority complexes. It is confronting but also our reality… 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism