The first two chapters begin with two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, who have never met. They both live in Ghana in the 1700's at the height of the slave trade. Effia is married off to one of those English slave-traders and her life and their descendants follow one path, mostly in Ghana, while Esi is sold into slavery to the US and her descendants follow another path. Every alternate chapter from the 1700's to the present is a story of these half-sisters descendants and how different their lives end up being. As you can guess, this novel can be brutal at times, but beautiful as well. I learned much more about the slave trade in Africa, and especially about the parts that some Africans played in it.
This novel reads almost like a collection of linked short stories because after we hear from a character in one story, they are never the main focus of a chapter again. In a way, it made it even more powerful, because we don't always get to know how everything pans out - nothing gets tied up in a neat little bow. Homegoing is a harrowing tale that is tough to read, but that I believe ultimately everyone could benefit from reading. I highly recommend it!