Phenomenal. My only gripe was that it sort of read like a collection of short stories. All of the chapters/stories were really engaging, but they were largely unrelated to one another. So to begin each chapter you really need to “do the work” to learn the characters and get into the story. Call me lazy but that’s why I really dislike short stories – it feels like all work and you never get into the flow of the story before it ends. Anyway, for me that was the only drawback of the book, but it is WELL worth your time to read it.
Yes, I just finished it last week. I was impressed by the way the author spanned time by focusing on two characters, one from each family, to move the story along. I loved some characters more than others, but loved the book overall. I learned some new things about the slave trade’ s history, too.
I didn’t really understand the slave trade before reading it. Got a little lost with some of the ghost stuff and had to look up literary analysis for explanation. I read a lot of civil rights type books (an American marriage , the hate U give, black klansman) but didn’t really understand the dirty details about slavery. The Colson Whitehead book Underground Railroad completely blew me away. I never thought slavery was good but I didn’t have the depth of knowledge to know how bad it was. The movie 10 years a slave also opened my eyes.
Amazing!!
Beautiful book
Amazing, heartbreaking story!
I loved it!
Loved it!
Heartwrenching and Powerful. I highly recommend
Loved it so much
It is my book club book for November. Glad to hear such rave reviews.
Beautifully written historical fiction. One of the best books. Do enjoy.
Loved the writing and the story.
I loved it. Beautiful writing and a good story.
I’m reading it now. It’s a beautiful book.
One of my favorites from the past couple of years
Loved it!
Looooooove
Great book. Well written and interesting format. I enjoyed it.
Really good. Be sure to track the family trees as you read it. They provide the needed context.
Very good! I really enjoyed it!
Amazing. A modern classic, if it’s not too early to call that.
Who is the author ?
@Julia Yaa Gyasi
It was wonderful
Loved it!
Such a good book!
Would it be a good choice for a Book Club
Read
@Julia , most definitely. There’s a lot to contemplate there.
Excellent book!
Fantastic book. Incredible writing.
I loved that book.
Such a wonderful book!
Phenomenal. My only gripe was that it sort of read like a collection of short stories. All of the chapters/stories were really engaging, but they were largely unrelated to one another. So to begin each chapter you really need to “do the work” to learn the characters and get into the story. Call me lazy but that’s why I really dislike short stories – it feels like all work and you never get into the flow of the story before it ends. Anyway, for me that was the only drawback of the book, but it is WELL worth your time to read it.
@Kate I’d no sooner be really engrossed in the current generations story and it would be over.
@Marcy I know! I wanted more of all the stories…
I expected more. It was good, but did not satisfy.
Excellent. It dealt with some post-slavery situations in our past that I’d been largely oblivious about. It made me want to learn mote
Wonderful book! Highly recommend it!
Reading now & loving it!
Yes, I just finished it last week. I was impressed by the way the author spanned time by focusing on two characters, one from each family, to move the story along. I loved some characters more than others, but loved the book overall. I learned some new things about the slave trade’ s history, too.
Fantastic book!!
Loved the audio book with the beautiful accents!
Yes! The narrator, Dominic Hoffman, is so talented!
Loved it!
I didn’t really understand the slave trade before reading it. Got a little lost with some of the ghost stuff and had to look up literary analysis for explanation. I read a lot of civil rights type books (an American marriage , the hate U give, black klansman) but didn’t really understand the dirty details about slavery. The Colson Whitehead book Underground Railroad completely blew me away. I never thought slavery was good but I didn’t have the depth of knowledge to know how bad it was. The movie 10 years a slave also opened my eyes.
Incredible book.