Yaa Gyasi
Author of Homegoing
About the Author
Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. She is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in English and an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her debut novel, The Homegoing, became a New York Times best seller. In 2016, she was selected as one of the U.S. National Book show more Foundation's 'five under 35' new writers to watch. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Yaa Gyasi
Associated Works
Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases (2020) — Contributor — 187 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1989
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- Ghana
- Birthplace
- Mampong, Ghana
- Places of residence
- Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Berkeley, California, USA - Education
- Iowa Writers' Workshop
Stanford University (BA/English) - Awards and honors
- National Book Foundation, 5 Under 35 Honoree (2016)
- Short biography
- YAA GYASI was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she held a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellowship. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Members
Reviews
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Wow. This book was like a punch in the stomach. I'm sure I'll never look at the slave trade and its ramifications in the same way again.
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, is one of the most skilled and beautiful works of historical fiction I've ever read. Particularly I liked the ending of the book, which I will not spoil. It is difficult to find writers who can really finish a story well. They must look back as well as forward; swell the finale with the thematic elements of the book, and work magic in the heart of the reader so that they will wish to return to the story, or to the author's other stories, to see that mystical power wrought again. To do such a thing in one's first novel is a rare ability, and I am filled with something more vivid than respect, that something unnameable that bibliophiles spend their reading lives in search of.… (more)
I'm guilty. I started reading this book only because I was travelling in Africa (Madagascar) but I was convinced it would be "about blaming us whites for all the problems black people have". I couldn't be more wrong, and I'm really sorry.
Yaa Gyasi took 7 years to write this book, I'm not surprised. It's equally tremendously entertaining and well documented. It goes all the way from the beginning of slavery to the current issues coloured people face today in the US.
One of the best historic fiction works you will get to read.… (more)
Yaa Gyasi took 7 years to write this book, I'm not surprised. It's equally tremendously entertaining and well documented. It goes all the way from the beginning of slavery to the current issues coloured people face today in the US.
One of the best historic fiction works you will get to read.… (more)
Lists
Overdue Podcast (1)
AP Lit (1)
wish list (1)
Africa (1)
Black Authors (1)
African Settings (1)
To Read (1)
BookTok Adult (2)
To Read (1)
Female Author (1)
Titoli bestiali (1)
World Books (1)
First Novels (1)
1800s: America (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 7,798
- Popularity
- #3,124
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 382
- ISBNs
- 93
- Languages
- 17
- Favorited
- 5
