Homegoing
Homegoing is the debut historical fiction novel by Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi, published in 2016. 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: Effia marries James Collins, the British governor in charge of Cape Coast Castle, while her half-sister Esi is held captive in the dungeons below. Subsequent chapters follow their children and following generations. The novel was selected in 2016 for the National Book Foundation's "5 under 35" award, the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for best first book, and was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2017. It received the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for 2017, an American Book Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature.
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The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In 18th-century Ghana, two half-sisters never meet, one marries a British slaver, the other is sold into the trade. Each chapter follows one descendant down each line, all the way to twenty-first-century America.
Yes. Homegoing won the 2016 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for a debut book and the PEN/Hemingway Award. Yaa Gyasi was 26 when the novel was published, and it was a New York Times bestseller.
Homegoing follows two family lines across seven generations and two continents, with a new narrator each chapter. The structure can be demanding because characters do not recur. The genealogy chart at the front is essential reference.
Homegoing was written by Yaa Gyasi, published in 2016 by Anchor Canada.
Homegoing is 320 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Homegoing takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Homegoing is a standalone novel by Yaa Gyasi, not part of a series.
Homegoing is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.