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Book Review : Homegoing

BOOK DETAILS:
Book Title : Homegoing
Author : Yaa Gyasi
ISBN : 9780241242728
Publisher : Viking
Genre : Semi-Autobiography / Fiction
Publication : 2017
Pages : 320
Format : Hardback

BOOK BLURB:
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow. Taking us from the Gold Coast of Africa to the cotton-picking plantations of Mississippi; from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem, spanning three continents and seven generations, Yaa Gyasi has written a miraculous novel - the intimate, gripping story of a brilliantly vivid cast of characters and through their lives the very story of America itself.

RATING: 5 ☆'s

REVIEW:
Sometimes you feel a draw towards a particular book without knowing anything about it or knowing why it is calling out to you - that is what homegoing was for me...
I had not read the blurb or knew much about the book - except a few words thrown my way - beautiful, melancholic, Africans, slavery, sad - and each word only drew me further towards the book...
I finally picked up the book for a readathon this March as a celebration of women authors and I was only glad to have picked it up

WHAT I LOVED:
  1. The Concept of The Plot --- the whole concept of weaving the lineage of half sisters and dedicating each chapter to a generation of the family somehow weaved the whole plot beautifully into a well written novel - reading as short stories which are intricately woven together
  2. The Writing --- the narration is not only powerful and impactful as it is supposed to be but also, it flows effortlessly making the reading experience quiet easy and fast paced
  3. Short Chapters, Big Chapters --- the author has interestingly dedicated only twenty pages to each character, yet each is packed with so much emotion and each of them is so intense, short yet detailed and powerful - and thus, even though the book comes off as short and fast read, the reader is never left feeling as if the story is incomplete. Some chapters surely made me feel like I wanted to know more about the characters life but those gaps were soon filled up in following chapters
  4. Lacing History With Fiction --- the way Gyasi has traced the American history and laced it with the fiction and at the same time, brought out the horrors of the reality slavery is amazing - Gyasi has emerged as an author to look out for and the fact that this was her first novel only
WHAT I DISLIKED:
N O T H I N G - yes I loved the book from page one till the last, if anything, I was sad to know that the book had ended and there wasn't any more works by the author to be devoured.


THE VERDICT:
The book is beautifully written and a must read - even though the book is heart wrenching, it tugs at the strings of your heart in the right way. Read it for the powerful tale of one woman who had two daughters, read it to know how the lives of two half sisters unfolds in so different ways, read it to know how the generations and generations suffer the consequences of the decisions of one woman alone... read the book for the way it engages you and finds a place deep inside your heart

READ, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR:

  • A Powerful Read
  • A Fast Paced Short Read
  • A Brief Look into American History and Slavery
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Comments

  1. Unknown28 March 2018 at 23:04

    Will start this next

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown29 March 2018 at 12:02

    Great review Khyati. I had meant to read it for femme march fest but didn't feel like reading anything after Shadow of the wind and eventually ended up in reading short mediocre books. Will definitely take this up soon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown7 April 2018 at 10:08

      We all need a down time, that's alright. But do pick up the book when ever you are ready.

      Delete

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