Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

https://rhbooks.com.ng/?ap_id=Jannaonyemaobi

You can purchase Homegoing from rovingheights with the link above.


Homegoing is a historical fiction set back in the Gold Coast which comprises of the Ashanti and the Northern territories (present day Ghana). This book is about the stories of two half sisters and their descendants up until the 8th generation. One of the sisters is married to a British governor and the other is sold into slavery.

Copyright: This image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution

It is divided into two parts, the first part takes place in Ghana and the second part takes place in America. One remarkable thing about homegoing is the slave trades that took place in the Cape Coast castle. Slaves were captured and kept in the dungeon until they were sold. This really struck me because prior to this book, I had no idea that the Ghanaian ancestors went through this. Maybe it is because I am not from Ghana but then I am African so I guess this rules out the excuse.

Another thing I loved about this book is the structure. It is unique although the book I read before this titled Girl, woman, other by Bernadine Evaristo has a similar writing structure (you can find the book review on my blog).

In homegoing, the chapters are arranged in chronological order, each character has to deal with either racism, gender discrimination or religious influence. No two character has the same story. Their stories are very different and each could be developed into a stand alone novel.

Homegoing points out something that is prominent in the African American community in this present generation. A lot of African Americans do not know where they come from, they might have an idea, a picture or something that symbolizes their origin but they are not able to connect fully with to their culture because they have been brought to America where religion, tradition, language etc are totally different from Africa.

Finally, I find this book very educative because it reveals things about Africa (Ghana) that are not necessarily taught in history classes and it builds this curiosity of wanting to know more. I had to Google the Cape Coast dungeon after reading this book. I gave this book five stars because it was an amazing read and i totally recommend it.

 

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