Review of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing begins with two sisters born in different villages in Ghana and goes on to trace the lives of their descendants as they diverge and interweave across eight generations. It is painfully and painstakingly told – showing the horrors of slavery both in action and in its generational affects. Although it is a story that spans generations, it is anything but linear. It’s about the tangled way that things are passed down – not just personas and traits, but scars that have worked their way internal, pain that is carried in the body and mind, shaping the lives of those who inherit it. More than that, it is about the dreams, visions, and anchors to locations inexplicably felt as home. It is a story about family in the most complex and nuanced way possible.
It seems trite to say it is about resilience, but it is that too, in its truest sense. Finally, the writing itself is so beautiful and vivid that I will always remember it as something I watched and experienced rather than read. This is the kind of book you’ll end up buying extra copies of just so you can give some away.
- By Margot, Information Adviser at York St John
