Subtitle from cover

"Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery. Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi's extraordinary novel illuminates slavery's troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed--and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation."--

"Reading Group Guide available at www.ReadingGroupCenter.com" --Back cover

"Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort in the sprawling, palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle, raising half-caste children who will be sent abroad to be educated in England before returning to the Gold Coast to serve as administrators of the Empire. Her sister, Esi, will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle beneath Effia in the castle's women's dungeon, and then shipped off on a boat bound for America, where she will be sold into slavery. Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast and tribal wars of Ghana, to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to the Great Migration north to the streets of 20th century Harlem and the Jazz Age. Yaa Gyasi's extraordinary novel illuminates slavery's troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed--and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation."--

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