A review by chirson
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

4.0

Never have I regretted the non-existence of half-stars more, because this was the exemplary 3.5-star book for me. Better than "liked it" but not quite "really liked it". Its ambition and scope deserve praise, and the overall effect of showing multiple generations and their experience of different forms of oppression was, for the most part, successful, but at the same time I didn't find its form to quite work for me. The conceit (giving a chapter to each character, shown through a fragmentary tale that not infrequently got no ending or only got an ending in another chapter) was more convincing in some chapters than others (I found the omissions to be where the novel was at its best - much as I like to know the ending, the open ones, where we do not learn what happened to the character because their own child lacks that knowledge, felt particularly powerful, moving and well thought-out), whereas at times it seemed to me as though the book was a little too literal, explaining the metaphors, so to speak, instead of allowing them to stand on their own.

For a story that showcases suffering and value and difficulty of survival, it is very gripping and readable, finding just enough glimpses of hope and humanity not to overwhelm the reader. Still, I think it should have affected me more than it did, and it might have with a little fewer characters and plotlines.