Book Club: Homegoing

The book our book club chose to read this last month was Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Gyasi was born in Ghana, was raised in Alabama and now lives in Berkeley, CA. This was her first novel and it was excellent.

It is a novel, but I do wonder how much of it is based on history and maybe even her own family's experience (although she never says this). This novel is the dissecting of a family tree. Two girls born by the same woman but raised in separate Ghanian villages by different families. One is loved and adored, the other abused and shamed. The story begins in the 1700s and follows each of their family's lineage up until the 1980s where a young girl who was born in Ghana grows up in Alabama and travels back to her homeland. The other lineage includes the slave trade and the struggles they had to find freedom.

Each chapter covers a different person's story and although I met a lot of characters throughout the book, each chapter captivated me in a way I hadn't expected and I was able to follow it well (the family tree at the beginning of the book was very helpful!). Knowing our history with slavery and racism made this novel feel very real and true to me. And reminded me of how dark this history is.

Ten years ago, I was living in The Gambia, West Africa and was able to tour two historic landmarks that were built to house/store slaves until the next "shipment." One in The Gambia and another in Senegal. Reading this book brought back many of those images to my mind and the stories I heard. It also reminded me a lot of the book called "Roots" which is a true account of someone being sold to slavery from Africa.

One of the thoughts I had when I read this book (which I highly recommend by the way!) is that no matter which story line these characters had come from, whether it was the family that mostly stayed in Africa or the one that was shipped to the United States, or if it was the 1700s or the 1900s, there were struggles with something. Not one of them had an easy life, which may just be part of this novel, but it also made me question how life is today -- everyone seems to struggle with something-- and our family's history is always a part of us.

Have you read it? What did you think?

The book our book club chose to read this last month was Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Gyasi was born in Ghana, was raised in Alabama and now lives in Berkeley, CA. This was her first novel and it was excellent.

It is a novel, but I do wonder how much of it is based on history and maybe even her own family's experience (although she never says this). This novel is the dissecting of a family tree. Two girls born by the same woman but raised in separate Ghanian villages by different families. One is loved and adored, the other abused and shamed. The story begins in the 1700s and follows each of their family's lineage up until the 1980s where a young girl who was born in Ghana grows up in Alabama and travels back to her homeland. The other lineage includes the slave trade and the struggles they had to find freedom.

Each chapter covers a different person's story and although I met a lot of characters throughout the book, each chapter captivated me in a way I hadn't expected and I was able to follow it well (the family tree at the beginning of the book was very helpful!). Knowing our history with slavery and racism made this novel feel very real and true to me. And reminded me of how dark this history is.

Ten years ago, I was living in The Gambia, West Africa and was able to tour two historic landmarks that were built to house/store slaves until the next "shipment." One in The Gambia and another in Senegal. Reading this book brought back many of those images to my mind and the stories I heard. It also reminded me a lot of the book called "Roots" which is a true account of someone being sold to slavery from Africa.

One of the thoughts I had when I read this book (which I highly recommend by the way!) is that no matter which story line these characters had come from, whether it was the family that mostly stayed in Africa or the one that was shipped to the United States, or if it was the 1700s or the 1900s, there were struggles with something. Not one of them had an easy life, which may just be part of this novel, but it also made me question how life is today -- everyone seems to struggle with something-- and our family's history is always a part of us.

Have you read it? What did you think?

The Fault in Our Stars

I had heard of this book a while ago, even before the movie came out but never seemed to remember the title when I was looking for books to read. Finally, I saw it again and immediately put it on hold at my library. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, a novel about two teenagers fighting cancer that fall in love, was a pretty fast read for me. I really enjoyed it and was thankful Stephen would play quietly at my feet for a few pages at a time!

Of course the story is sad--it's about kids and cancer. But I enjoyed the narrative of the main character, Hazel and her perspective of her life, her parents and friends. Maybe "enjoyed" isn't the right word though . . . she has a sense of (dry) humor, is smart/witty and and seems pretty grounded. She goes through a lot of emotions - fears of death, love, anxiety and worry and I'll stop there so I don't give away the ending.

Anyway, if you haven't read it yet I'd recommend it!

I had heard of this book a while ago, even before the movie came out but never seemed to remember the title when I was looking for books to read. Finally, I saw it again and immediately put it on hold at my library. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, a novel about two teenagers fighting cancer that fall in love, was a pretty fast read for me. I really enjoyed it and was thankful Stephen would play quietly at my feet for a few pages at a time!

Of course the story is sad--it's about kids and cancer. But I enjoyed the narrative of the main character, Hazel and her perspective of her life, her parents and friends. Maybe "enjoyed" isn't the right word though . . . she has a sense of (dry) humor, is smart/witty and and seems pretty grounded. She goes through a lot of emotions - fears of death, love, anxiety and worry and I'll stop there so I don't give away the ending.

Anyway, if you haven't read it yet I'd recommend it!

Book Club: The Zookeeper's Wife

 

Last month my book club read The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. This book was in high demand from the library and I got it the day before our meeting, but I managed to get to the half way mark in two days! So, now a few weeks later, I finally finished it.

I have to say that it wasn't what I expected. I can usually get into a story fairly quickly and I really don't see myself as a critical reader, but this book was very difficult to get into. It didn't read like a story to me. It was more or less as retelling or compilation of other people's memoirs and accounts of World War II with the main character being a zookeeper's wife in Warsaw, Poland.

That being said, it was all a true story and since I know very little about what happened in Poland during the war, it was informational to say the least. The zookeeper and his wife used their zoo and home to hide numerous people during the war which is understandably a very strenuous task. Add two children and a house and zoo full of animals and I can't imagine the stress. Both husband and wife seem to take so much of the happenings in stride and handle it with exceptional grace. My life feels chaotic most of the time, I really can't imagine all they dealt with, much of it life and death -- for years.

Have you read the book? Seen the movie? Tell me what you thought!

 

Last month my book club read The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. This book was in high demand from the library and I got it the day before our meeting, but I managed to get to the half way mark in two days! So, now a few weeks later, I finally finished it.

I have to say that it wasn't what I expected. I can usually get into a story fairly quickly and I really don't see myself as a critical reader, but this book was very difficult to get into. It didn't read like a story to me. It was more or less as retelling or compilation of other people's memoirs and accounts of World War II with the main character being a zookeeper's wife in Warsaw, Poland.

That being said, it was all a true story and since I know very little about what happened in Poland during the war, it was informational to say the least. The zookeeper and his wife used their zoo and home to hide numerous people during the war which is understandably a very strenuous task. Add two children and a house and zoo full of animals and I can't imagine the stress. Both husband and wife seem to take so much of the happenings in stride and handle it with exceptional grace. My life feels chaotic most of the time, I really can't imagine all they dealt with, much of it life and death -- for years.

Have you read the book? Seen the movie? Tell me what you thought!