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What Members Thought
3.5 stars. This is not a casual read. The structure of the book is very different, moving down through all the generations of two separated branches of a family since the 18th century. Gyasi's writing is beautiful and powerful. The book is intense and emotionally demanding, sometimes outright bruising and painful. Took me two tries to make it through, but it was worth it.
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Incredible story-loved the ending.
It's not the most upbeat book you'll ever read, but I'll be thinking about it for quite a while. She's an excellent story teller.
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Excellent debut novel by 26-year old Yaa Gyasi. A family saga spanning seven generations that starts in the eighteenth-century with two half sisters born in different tribal villages in West Africa in Ghana and ends in present day in the U.S. Each set of chapters is a snapshot of key experiences in the lives of the half sisters and then of a descendant of each sister in the subsequent generations. Each chapter is more like a short story. Gyasi covers the slave trade, British colonization, slaver
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Woven so tight, but gives space for each character to live his/her own story. Loved the way the story flowed through the generations, the way the language changed and appreciated the twists that echoed the families' pasts. Really enjoyed the structure, with each chapter focused on a different character. I was worried I might be disappointed that I didn't get to follow any one character for longer than a chapter, but there was just enough in subsequent chapters to be satisfying. Also worried that
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Sep 01, 2016
Rebecca
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Sep 23, 2016
Steve Anderson
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Nov 26, 2016
Samantha
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Joy
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Nov 07, 2017
C.
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Jan 16, 2019
Christine
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Jan 09, 2020
Efe
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Jan 19, 2020
Laura
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May 26, 2020
Grace
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Oct 27, 2021
Lori
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it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
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reading-the-world
Jun 17, 2021
Pantteri
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