Homegoing is an ambitious generational saga that begins with two sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to one another in Africa in the 1700s. Each chapter then follows a subsequent descendant covering such topics as colonialism in Africa, the slave trade, and racism in the Jim Crow south to 1980s Harlem. 

Yaa Gyasi has a matter-of-fact writing style and the format can lend itself to read more like a collection of short stories. But, the power of Homegoing lies in the totality of the book over some of its individual chapters.