Quick Look: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Title: Homegoing

Author: Yaa Gyasi

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Big Ideas (Themes): Bias, Discrimination, Racism, Colonialism, Culture, Family, Global Relations, Identity, Loss, Religion, War

Book Size: Medium-Long Read (300 pages)

World Categories - Setting: North America - U.S. & Canada, Western & Sub-saharan Africa

World Categories - Characters: Black, North American - U.S. & Canada, Western & Sub-saharan African

World Categories - Author: Black, North American - U.S. & Canada, Western & Sub-saharan African

Other Representation - Characters: LGBTQ+ characters

Reading Level Based on Difficulty: High School, Adult

Maturity Level Based on Content: High School, Adult

Sensitive or Mature Topics Include: Abuse, Sex, Violence, Sexual Violence

Notes on Sensitive or Adult Topics: Stories of slavery and related traumatic events

Series? No

Number of Books in Series: N.A.

Introductory Summary: Homegoing follows the story of two half-sisters and their descendants from the Gold Coast (Ghana) from the beginning of British colonialism and the slave trade to modern day. In Ghana, the protagonists hover on the edges of a family involved in the slave trade, while across the Atlantic their family members experience slavery and discrimination in a myriad of forms. Spanning a large breadth of human experiences, the characters retain a strong sense of themselves while facing countless obstacles.

What We Like About This Book: The writing is exquisite and the strong character development draws the reader in. The characters love hard and fight for themselves. That said, it reads like a tragedy for most of the book - the reader begins to hope for the characters and then something terrible happens only to have a new hope with the next story and next generation. Eventually an equilibrium is reached and some sense of relief given, but it takes the whole book to get there.

3 Reasons Students Will Like This Book:

1. Excellent character development

2. Fascinating juxtaposition between the two continents

3. Beautiful writing

Teaching Notes / Recommendations: Although this book does not end as a tragedy, I would teach it as an exploration of tragedy and the purposes of tragedy as a genre. What lesson is the writer attempting to convey with each vignettes mournful ending? How does hope play a role in the multi-generational story? Additionally, I would teach this story as an example of historical fiction and discuss the role and impact the historical circumstances have on the outcome of each characters story. I would ask my students to ponder what the author conveys about the idea of self-determination. How much do the characters own actions and will impact the outcome of their stories and how much of the story is driven by their circumstances and the time and place they are living?

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