URL Link
Full Citation
Gyasi, Yaa, 2016. Homegoing. Alfred Knopf, New York.
What diversity/subjectivity topics are they discussing?
“No one forgets that they were once captive, even if they are now free.”
This chronicle covers 300 years, starting in the area that is now Ghana and coming to the US. Gyasi depicts African slavery and the European slave trade. The book shows multiple generations of two families, and explores effects of being both oppressor and oppressed, and how those experiences ripple down through generations — whether descendants know the history consciously or not.
Though well written, this book is not easy to read. It is extremely painful, includes violent details, and looks directly at parts of human experience and history that are typically only referred to in vague generalities. It is worth reading because it allows readers to share one narrative of the trauma African Americans have inherited.
Your summary or comments on the article
See write-ups and articles on the book at
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/yaa-gyasis-homegoing – pretty critical
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27071490-homegoing – very positive
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/books/review/isabel-wilkerson-reviews-yaa-gyasis-homegoing.html – very positive, on the whole, with some criticism of the portions of the book focused on more recent years, in America.
Leave A Comment