Interview with yaa gyasi created by slate view on slate share. Each post features one book and announces the pick for the following months post. Mar 19, 2017 with homegoing, yaa gyasi outdid all my expectations of a novel. The unhealed ruptures of slaverycourse through homegoing, the hypnotic debut novel by yaa gyasi, a stirringly gifted young writer, that contemplates the consequences of human trafficking on both sides of the atlanticthe west african chapters are the heart of the book, a deep channeling of multilayered humanity. Aug 29, 2019 yaa gyasis story is a commitment to those ancestors and their stories. Effects of being a black women in a racist and patriarchal society.
But this idea also seems significant, one thread of the intricate lace of the book. The story follows an africanamerican family through many generations. Homegoing book club with mashreads and yaa gyasi join mashreads for a night of food, friends, and books as we chat about our latest book club book homegoing by yaa gyasi, with yaa gyasi herself, on tuesday, july 25 at 6. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy.
Homegoing raises impossible questions about the legacy of. Effia marries james collins, the british governor in charge of cape coast castle, while her halfsister esi is held captive in the dungeons below. Yaa gyasi was born in ghana and raised in huntsville, alabama. This book made me cry, made me smile, challenged me to see our history in a new way, and sparked a lasting dialogue among members of my book club. Books similar to homegoing meet your next favorite book. Through the distilled and poignant stories of 9 families across 9 generations, it charts the course of history from 18th century ghana to presentday usa in two branches, rooted in maame, and belonging to half sisters effia otcher and esi asare. To read more about the themes of homegoing, check out the enotes study guide. Make sure you join the bbc africa book club facebook group. It won several awards including being one of oprahs favorite books of 2016. Supporting the national common core state standards ccss in reading literature for high school curriculums, homegoing is an appropriate selection for grades. Sep 08, 2017 your book club will love yaa gyasi s homegoing, a 2017 oprah book club pick. Yaa gyasi s striking debut novel traces racism from africa to the us and back again yaa gyasi.
Top pick for book clubs one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2016, yaa gyasis homegoing is a powerful novel that chronicles the lives of effia and esi, two lovely halfsisters who arent aware of one another, and whose fates in 1700s ghana are drastically different. Gyasi traces the entire history of africa and africanamericans. Book club discussion guide homegoing by yaa gyasi author. Homegoing study guide contains a biography of yaa gyasi, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Two half sisters, effia and esi, are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. Homegoing is the debut historical fiction novel by yaa gyasi, published in 2016. One thread of homegoing follows effias descendants through centuries of warfare in ghana, as the. Homegoing by yaa gyasi book club discussion questions. This book is gyasi debut novel and a book club favorite. One will marry an englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the notorious cape coast castle. She holds a ba in english from stanford university and an mfa from the iowa writers workshop, where she held a deans graduate research fellowship. The book picked for this month was homegoing by yaa gyasi this book has a lot of charactersstory lines so to help keep things straight, ill reply to this post in a second with a cheat sheet of sorts.
Historical fiction enthusiasts will love homegoing by yaa gyasi. Today is the day for our sixth book club discussion. Were a global book club for likeminded women to discuss great books. The novel starts with two halfsisters, effia and esi, born in eighteenth century ghana, each not. Told through compelling chapters that follow the generations, the novel creates many opportunities for considering the legacy of enslavement for those of african descent. Winner of the nbccs john leonard first book prize a new york times notable book a washington post. Homegoing by yaa gyasi bbc africa book club youtube. Yaa gyasis homegoing is a sweeping exploration about what happens to the descendants of two african sisters separated at birth. What is a homegoing and where does it appear in the novel. Winner of the nbccs john leonard first book prize a new york times 2016 notable book one of oprahs 10 favorite books of 2016 nprs debut novel of the year one of buzzfeeds best fiction books of 2016 one of times top 10 novels of 2016, winner of 2017 pen hemingway award for debut fiction. In september, our open book club will read and discuss homegoing by yaa gyasi.
Truly epic in scope, the book covers a span of about threehundred years from the eighteenth century straight into the twentieth century. Homegoing characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and shipped off to america to be sold into slavery. Homegoing by yaa gyasi booksamillion online book store.
Jun 14, 2016 its fortuitous that yaa gyasis homegoing, an intergenerational family novel that traces a path from the slave trade in ghana to the united states in the present day, arrived in. In addition to the terms literal meaning, discuss what symbolic meanings or associations the title might have in terms of a connection. Homegoing three hundred years of family ties by yaa gyasi. Slavery, jim crow, oral tradition, yaa gyasi, homegoing. Homegoing is an astonishing and heartrending debut novel written by the undeniably talented yaa gyasi.
Homegoing by yaa gyasi reading guidebook club discussion. Nawar nominated homegoing, so she will be leading the group discussion. Each chapter in the novel follows a different descendant of an asante woman named maame, starting with her two daughters, who are half sisters, separated by circumstance. Family is one of the central themes of yaa gyasis homegoing.
Homegoing explores the struggle of africans on their native continent and on the one to which. Effia is sold by her father to british governor james collins, who takes. Dec 05, 2016 born in ghana and raised in huntsville, alabama, yaa gyasi has written a debut work that embraces her extended world in all its complexity. Read free book excerpt from homegoing by yaa gyasi, page 2 of 4. For all jto book club updates check out the designated highlight on my instagram page. Dave wheeler, associate editor, shelf awareness gyasi gives voice, and an empathetic ear, to the ensuing seven generations of flawed and deeply human descendants, creating a patchwork mastery of historical fiction. All members of the book club read the same book over the same period. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors.
These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of homegoing by yaa gyasi. Ghana, the african gold coast, ghana village life, slavery, colonialism, u. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion. Reading guide for homegoing by yaa gyasi discussion guide for book clubs. Generation after generation, yaa gyasi s magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing by yaa gyasi is a novel in stories about the atlantic slave trade and its aftermath. Homegoing by yaa gyasi meet your next favorite book. Homegoing by yaa gyasi teachers guide penguin random. Dec 07, 2017 homegoing begins in fire, as a house slave sets herself free by burning her masters african village to the ground, and ends in the ocean, as two of her two descendants from two completely different lineages find, finally, perhaps, a sort of reconciliation. Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author. The novel begins with the stories of two african halfsisters of the fante and asante tribes. The introduction, author biography, discussion questions, and suggested reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of homegoing. Fbc is a monthly column in which we explore written works through a feminist lens. Homegoing is the story of two halfsisters, esi and effia, who are born into.
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