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A review by goldenfenris
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
5.0
The structure of this novel is a double edged blade. It’s intriguing to follow an entire family over several generations, jumping from time period and location as you go. However, since you are only following each character for a chunk of time, you never really get fully attached to them. Or if you do get attached to one, you may not get anymore information about what happens to them after their chapter.
The earliest chapters were rich and immersive. I read almost first half of the novel in one sitting. I didn’t want to put it down, but as the chapters progressed they got shorter and shorter. But also the later chapters felt staged to hit certain and specific events in time. I am still appreciative of what every chapter explored as it is largely untold pieces of history. History is told by the victor and unfortunately Yaa Gyasi’s characters have not been on the winning side.
This novel could have been a little longer, some of the later characters were really hard to connect with as they only had about twenty pages to come alive for the reader. An extra one or two hundred pages could have made the characters even more relatable, but it may have lowered the attraction for most casual readers. The last two generations, in particular, could have used at little more time because they were by far not as fleshed out as most of the other characters. The author was putting a little more emphasis on history than the characters and their stories.
My biggest piece of advice to anyone deciding to pick this up would be to read the chapters in sets of twos so that you cover a generation in each sitting. That way you get a clearer idea of what is happening in the family line, but also what is happening in the wider world.
Despite not being a particularly easy book to read, it is an excellent book. The novel isn’t particularly long in just over three hundred pages. If you’re looking for a sweeping epic, this is not it, but if you desire a look at how slavery affected individuals, this is a good read for you.
The earliest chapters were rich and immersive. I read almost first half of the novel in one sitting. I didn’t want to put it down, but as the chapters progressed they got shorter and shorter. But also the later chapters felt staged to hit certain and specific events in time. I am still appreciative of what every chapter explored as it is largely untold pieces of history. History is told by the victor and unfortunately Yaa Gyasi’s characters have not been on the winning side.
This novel could have been a little longer, some of the later characters were really hard to connect with as they only had about twenty pages to come alive for the reader. An extra one or two hundred pages could have made the characters even more relatable, but it may have lowered the attraction for most casual readers. The last two generations, in particular, could have used at little more time because they were by far not as fleshed out as most of the other characters. The author was putting a little more emphasis on history than the characters and their stories.
My biggest piece of advice to anyone deciding to pick this up would be to read the chapters in sets of twos so that you cover a generation in each sitting. That way you get a clearer idea of what is happening in the family line, but also what is happening in the wider world.
Despite not being a particularly easy book to read, it is an excellent book. The novel isn’t particularly long in just over three hundred pages. If you’re looking for a sweeping epic, this is not it, but if you desire a look at how slavery affected individuals, this is a good read for you.