Homegoing

 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) 305 pages

I loved this novel. I listened to the first half as an audiobook then had to switch to print. It is an epic multi-generational saga that in some ways is fourteen separate, but connected, coming-of-age tales. "Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana" on Africa's southwest coast. One stays in Africa and the other is sold into slavery in America. The chapters alternate between Effia's and Esi's descendents. This is historical fiction through a range of historical time periods. The historical details and variety of lived experiences of the African Diaspora are described with such liveliness. There are stories of love, of suffering, of labor, of grief, of colonization, and of discovering a black person's place in the world. 

Black Cake

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, 385 pages

When Eleanor Bennett died, she left her children Byron and Benny a Caribbean black cake and a long audio recording they had to listen to together. While this would be difficult for anyone who just lost their mother, it's particularly tough for them because Benny hasn't spoken to Byron (or anyone else in the family) since that fateful Thanksgiving many years ago, when she came out as bisexual. However, they do what they're told and listen to the recording, learning that their mother had a past that neither of them ever suspected, one that involved multiple identity changes and a secret child.

Through these characters and a narrative that bounces around in time, Wilkerson weaves a complex family history that spans continents and oceans, making the characters (and readers) question what we really know about those we love. This is a phenomenal debut novel, and I can't wait to see what Wilkerson does next.