Reviews

I am finally getting around to reading my second Cannonball Read book exchange gift book this year from Bonnie (thanks Bonnie!) I don't know what took me so dang long because I loved the first book she gave me, Red White and Royal Blue, and it wasn't even on my radar to read, and neither was Homegoing and I should have known that Bonnie knows her book business and BOY. DOES. SHE. Homegoing is definitely in my top books of the year, and one I'm going to be recommending to everyone.

Gyasi follows two half sisters born in Ghana in the 1700s and their parallel paths and descendants through eight generations, from Africa all the way to the United States. It is wildly creative and deftly weaves these characters into history as we see their lives unfold, and how they are all still connected to their origins.

I love a book that jumps character point of view, but it's a delicate balance to pull off. Typically the issue is that you end up liking some characters more than others so the chapters with your favorites are great, but then others become a slog. Gyasi avoids that pitfall entirely because every single chapter is a different character. And I mean, wow, what a feat. To create and embody so many different characters and voices so so well is an accomplishment. This book almost reads like a short story collection because each chapter is a different period of time, voice, and length and all are interesting. She helpfully provides a family tree at the front of the book so you can keep everyone straight. I got a little lost with some magical elements in a few storylines (I wasn't sure what conclusion I was meant to draw) but found this book imaginative, educational, and very well done. I immediately picked up another book of hers and will jumping into it soon!

iseli22's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was recommended to me by a lovely friend who said that I should definitely read this one. And so I did. And it was great!
Yaa Gyasi tells a story of a family that parted when two sisters have never met each other. However, the two initial branches of the family tree bifurcated with the following generations and the reader gets small glimpses of the life of each time period along the family tree.
Because of the alternating story telling between the two main branches, the drawing of the family tree at the beginning of the book was very helpful.
As much as I enjoyed reading the different stories and being drawn into the fate of the people, I also feared half way through the book, that it would be always the same pattern: We read about one person of the family, see that the line continues in the tree, and hence the person has to find someone to marry or just someone to get the children that are noted in the family tree. However, Yaa Gyasi managed it to tell the stories of each family member in a way, that was unique for all of them, just as their individual character.