Homegoing: a novel
Author
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language
English
Appears on these lists
Description
Winner of the NBCC's John Leonard First Book PrizeA New York Times 2016 Notable BookOne of Oprah’s 10 Favorite Books of 2016NPR's Debut Novel of the YearOne of Buzzfeed's Best Fiction Books Of 2016One of Time's Top 10 Novels of 2016“Homegoing is an inspiration.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates The unforgettable New York Times best seller begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history, each life indeliably drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day. Effia and Esi are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.
More Details
Contributors
ISBN
9781101947135
9781101947142
9781101971062
9780451484192
9780735209817
9781101947142
9781101971062
9780451484192
9780735209817
UPC
9780735209817
Subjects
Subjects
African American Fiction
African Americans -- History -- Fiction
Fiction
FICTION -- African American -- Historical
FICTION -- Literary
FICTION -- Sagas
Ghana -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction
Historical Fiction
Intermarriage -- England -- Fiction
Literature
Sisters -- Fiction
Slavery -- Fiction
Slavery -- United States -- Fiction
Women, Black -- Fiction
Women -- Ghana -- Fiction
African Americans -- History -- Fiction
Fiction
FICTION -- African American -- Historical
FICTION -- Literary
FICTION -- Sagas
Ghana -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction
Historical Fiction
Intermarriage -- England -- Fiction
Literature
Sisters -- Fiction
Slavery -- Fiction
Slavery -- United States -- Fiction
Women, Black -- Fiction
Women -- Ghana -- Fiction
Excerpt
Loading Excerpt...
Similar Titles From NoveList
NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Readers seeking sweeping family sagas from own voices authors for rich book club discussions will appreciate these character-driven historical novels that span generations. -- Laura Szaro Kopinski
Although Homegoing does not have the magical realist elements of Devil Three Times (where the devil does show up), both of these sweeping family sagas follow one Black family from the time of their enslavement into the modern era. -- Michael Shumate
Spanning generations, these sweeping family sagas trace two branches of the same family with roots in slavery. Covering many issues surrounding race, identity, and family, each provides a thought-provoking reading experience. -- Halle Carlson
Unconfessed - Christianse, Yvette
The 18th-century European colonization of the African continent sets the stage for these haunting historical novels. Homegoing examines the far-reaching legacy of the slave trade in the Ashanti Kingdom (Ghana), while Unconfessed depicts one enslaved woman's life in South Africa. -- NoveList Contributor
These sprawling, sweeping novels follow large casts of characters across generations. Homegoing is set over centuries in Ghana and the U.S.; The Travelers follows two families (one black, one white) in the U.S., though their stories are told nonlinearly. -- Shauna Griffin
Though Homegoing takes place over generations and Inland focuses on a shorter time period, both of these richly detailed historical accounts star complex characters in intertwining narratives and explore themes of racism, violence, and belonging. -- Halle Carlson
Although Homegoing traces, in alternating chapters, the diverging paths of two African half-sisters and their descendants and Cane River follows four generations of African-American women from slavery to freedom, both family sagas depict the legacy of the Atlantic slave trade. -- NoveList Contributor
While Homegoing takes place over several generations and The Vanishing Half is smaller in scale, both of these character-driven own voices novels follow two sisters and their descendants as their life's paths take dramatically different directions. -- Halle Carlson
Multiple perspectives intertwine in these family sagas that look at American race relations through the centuries, specifically slavery on a plantation (A Shout in the Ruins) and the displacement of Africans to America (Homegoing). -- Shannon Haddock
These sweeping multi-generational sagas each trace generations of one African family, beginning in the 1700s up through the present day. Kintu is set in the context of Ugandan history; Homegoing in Ghana and the U.S. -- Shauna Griffin
These sweeping historical novels explore the impact of colonization on multiple generations of a Korean (Pachinko) and Ghanaian (Homegoing) family. -- Kaitlin Conner
Though the families depicted differ greatly, these powerful multi-generational family sagas each trace two sides of a powerful cultural divide -- the timber industry in the ecologically oriented Barkskins, and the legacy of slavery in Homegoing. -- Shauna Griffin
Similar Authors From NoveList
NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Ugandan Jennifer Makumbi employs magical realism in her novels, while Ghanian American Yaa Gyasi sticks to realistic literary fiction However, both write moving, stylistically-complex novels combining their native countries' histories with family sagas. Both also use more contemporary settings to portray the African diaspora in England (Makumbi) and America (Gyasi). -- Michael Shumate
The literary novels of Zimbabwean Petina Gappah and Ghanaian-American Yaa Gyasi are equally compelling whether they use well-researched historical settings in 18th and 19th century Africa or tell modern stories about the immigrant experience in America (Gyasi) or political corruption in modern Zimbabwe. Their character-driven stories use engaging narrators, sometimes include multiple perspectives. -- Michael Shumate
Liberian American Wayetu Moore and Ghanian American Yaa Gyasi write thought-provoking, culturally diverse literary and historical fiction. Both novelists compellingly explore the African diaspora, from the violent history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its legacy for African Americans to the challenges faced by contemporary African immigrants and refugees. -- Michael Shumate
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and stylistically complex, and they have the genres "african american fiction" and "family sagas"; the subjects "african americans," "half-sisters," and "race relations"; and include the identity "black."
These authors' works have the genres "african american fiction" and "family sagas"; the subjects "african americans," "north american people," and "race relations"; and include the identity "black."
These authors' works have the genres "african american fiction" and "literary fiction"; the subjects "west african people," "african people," and "race relations"; include the identity "black"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "well-developed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, and they have the genres "african american fiction" and "family sagas"; the subjects "african americans," "race relations," and "racism"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "flawed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, stylistically complex, and multiple perspectives, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "literary fiction"; the subjects "african americans," "slavery," and "slaveholders"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors stylistically complex and own voices, and they have the genres "african american fiction" and "historical fiction"; the subjects "african americans," "race relations," and "ethnic identity"; and include the identity "black."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and sweeping, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "family sagas"; and the subjects "african americans," "race relations," and "ancestors."
These authors' works have the genre "psychological fiction"; the subjects "african people," "race relations," and "racism"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the genre "african american fiction"; the subjects "african americans," "half-sisters," and "race relations"; include the identity "black"; and characters that are "complex characters."
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Staff View
Loading Staff View.