It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and WOW, what an excellent story masterfully told!
Though fictional, I feel like this book tells the story of every African-American who’s ever lived as it’s equally historical and hits very close to home. As powerful as it is on the American side of the story, it also gives serious detail to the painful scarring that the American slave trade and European colonization left on West Africa. This is a deeply moving book that I’m sure will stay with me forever.
The Basic Plot
Homegoing tells the story of Maame, an African woman who gave birth to two daughters under very different circumstances and neither daughter knew the other. The book goes on to follow the lives of all of Maame’s descendants as one daughter was captured and sold into slavery and the other remained on Africa’s Gold Coast. Each chapter is devoted to a different offspring and a different generation spanning from the early 1600s on through the early 2000s. It follows the different lives and experiences of each child born with the same ancestry, but knowing nothing of their kin across the Atlantic. It’s reads like a collection of short stories intended to be read in succession with each one having a strong connection not only to the preceding tale, but to a larger one that ultimately goes full-circle. That may not make sense to you now, but it will once you read it, lol.
Every Black American Can Relate to This One
I say that it feels like the story of every African-American throughout history and into the present because it essentially is. Sure, the names and specific events vary, but we (Black Americans) all share common ancestry with Africans on the continent, yet are separated from one another due to the Atlantic Slave Trade. Our lives and our families have been irreparably damaged by the interruption, yet we have so many shared experiences with each other and with the characters in the book.
Since finishing the book yesterday, I’ve gone back to view the fictional family tree a couple of times just to reflect on the stories and compare the parallel branches rooted in Africa and America. Many thanks to the author for including a PDF of the tree with the audiobook, so that the ability to do so isn’t lost for those who listen to the book (there’s also a copy online… on Wikipedia and elsewhere). In visually recounting the stories while looking at the tree, I was able to really reflect on the Black experience here in America and consider what could have been had our ancestors remained in Africa. Just one tiny example of what I mean relates to the last name issue and all that goes along with that, which I’ve been ruminating on for a while now and write about on my other blog at BlacktoAfricaMovement.com.
Yaa Gyasi Is One to Watch
I didn’t know a thing about Yaa Gyasi before reading this book, but I found her style of writing such a complex work easy to follow and understand. Emotionally, some parts of it were difficult to bear, but Gyasi neither shied away from those tellings, nor did she craft those stories in such a way that I ever felt like I couldn’t go any further. That she was only in her mid-20s and that this is her debut novel shocked me after I read the book and looked for more info on her. I cannot wait to read what’s next for this young author!
Of course, I highly recommend this book to everyone reading this blog. As I do most books these days, I listened to it on audio. I also, however, read along with an ebook version through a good portion of it as I wanted to see the correct spelling of some of the Akan names and words printed. I really think hearing correct pronunciations helped as much as seeing the names/words in print, so I recommend both versions to the same degree.
What Did You Think of Homegoing?
Have you read the book, yet? Who was your favorite character and why? Who’s story will stay with you the longest? Have you recommended it to others? I want to hear what you thought of the book, so please leave a comment below or follow me on social and let’s talk about it there.
~ LaLa
