Homegoing

HOMEGOING
by Yaa Gyasi

 Awards: National Book Critics Circle Winner 2016, PEN/Hemingway Winner 2017

Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2017, Center For Fiction Finalist 2016, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2017, Dublin Longlist 2018
Date Read: March 29, 2017

 Homegoing highlights the vast differences in human experience that seem determined by a whim. Two sisters, Effia and Esi, are born villages apart, yet experience polar opposite lives that can be traced down through generations. Considered historical fiction, Homegoing was the debut novel for Gyasi, who shockingly received a $1M advance. Quite a gamble by a publisher for an unproven author.

 The standout for me here was reading Marcus, a descendent of Esi's line, experiencing Ghana with Marjorie. As they tour the Cape Coast Castle, Marcus has an anxiety attack as he sees the Door Of No Return, a perfectly reasonable reaction to such a historic and devastating symbol from slavery. As he and Marjorie swim in the nearby ocean waters, it seemed that both of them were able to orient themselves in time and place and grasp the shoulders they were standing on to live in that moment. 

 Homegoing will long remain a favorite for me and, in my opinion, a novel well worth the gamble.

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