Book Review: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Book: 118/150

Rating: 5/5

Daaaaaarn. Never have I ever had this much of a book hangover before. What an absolutely spectacular book!

Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into two different villages in the 18th century. Effia is married off to a wealthy Englishman and lives in a castle, and Esi ends up imprisoned and held captive in the dungeons underneath the castle Effia lives in. Each proceeding chapter is a descendent of Effia (following centuries of warfare in Ghana), and Esi (following hers through slavery to America). You never get the perspective of the same character twice, but in some chapters you see previous characters pop up, or find out their fates (there is a family tree at the beginning of the book which is so helpful to come back to when reading).

Spanning over 300 years and through several generations, Homegoing is an incredible experience for a reader. I have never been so enamored when reading a book, and I could not stop thinking about these characters and the story. It's crazy to think about how well thought out this book is, and so emotional to read about the historical realities these characters faced that were all beyond their control.

It wrapped up so beautifully at the end, and I still can't stop thinking about it! This one definitely goes down as an all time favourite.