Ghana Must Go was an interesting and unusual read. The book follows the story of one family, the Sais. There is the renowned surgeon and father of the family, Dr Sai who is the centre of the start of the book as Taiye Selasi looks at how the events of his life and his choices impacted on his wife Folasade and four children (Olu, Kehinde, Taiwo and Sadie). The first third of the book is discombobulated, difficult to follow and very confusing. If I had not read a review that said the last two-thirds of the book were fantastic and entirely different, I probably would have abandoned the book there. Therefore, I urge you to get past the first few chapters as the book becomes insightful, thought-provoking, emotional and dark. This is as the book shifts from the narrative of Dr Sai, to a narrative following his children and examining the troubles in their lives. Taiye Selasi creates real, human stories for the four children Olu, Kehinde, Taiwo and Sadie. As characters they are not necessarily likeable, but they are interesting individuals with secrets, experiences and shared horrors in their past.

Taiye Selasi looks at how the lives of Dr Sai's four children can differ so dramatically within one family and how they can all take different routes in life. She looks at how their parents' choices have resulted in their lives being inflicted with pain, sadness and occasionally moments of happiness. She draws the four children together by examining how grief and pain can affect family bonds. Taiye Selasi creates an interesting exploration of what family means and examines how family behaves. She looks at the Nigerian civil war (albeit briefly and as a backdrop) for understanding how this impacted Nigerian/Ghanaian families and the future generations. This is because in 1983 the Ghana Must Go movement was enacted in Nigeria to expel all Ghanaians from Nigeria as part of the civil war conflict. Although Taiye Selasi does not directly talk about this in explicit detail, the issues between Nigeria and Ghana are evident at certain points in the narrative. This is because Dr Sai is from Ghana, whilst his wife grew up in Nigeria.

Taiye Selasi's book was very different from the recent book I read about Ghanaian/African-American families, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Ghana Must Go is largely rooted in contemporary culture. It looks at a family dynamic and relationships within the family and how this shaped the lives of the characters. Although race and identity were important to this book, I didn't feel like it shaped the narrative in the same sense as Homegoing. This was less about the conflict between white and black. It was about the conflict within one family and I really enjoyed this focus on the family. There was also a big focus on the concept of redemption, and how the actions of each individual character impacted on their family, each other and how they could seek redemption and happiness despite the problems in their lives. Ghana Must Go was not necessarily a happy book, but it was interesting, thought-provoking and I would definitely read more by Taiye Selasi.