📖 Homegoing

Effia Otcher is a beautiful young woman born in Asante village (now Ghana). She's married off to a British colonizer and lives a relatively peaceful life at the Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to her, her half sister who she's never met Esi is in the castle's dungeons below. Effie grows up understanding the traditions and expectations of her family and village and the British. At Effia's time in the castle, she has a son named Quey, who is sent to England by Effia's husband in fear that he was developing a homosexual relationship with another boy on the island. Esi is Effia's half sister. During a raid on her village, she is captured and imprisoned in the dungeons of Cape Coast Castle. Her mother and father are killed in the raid of the village and after being held in the castle, Esi is sold into slavery across the ocean to America. Esi has a daughter named Ness, and she teaches her some Twi before being separated as punishment. Quey, after being sent to England, returns to the Asante people on an assignment to unite the British and Asante. Effia's brother Fiifi and Cudjo, the boy Quey was developing feelings for, raid the Asante village and bring back the daughter of a village chief. He vows to marry the girl, realizing that a marriage would bring the Asante and Fantes together. They marry and have a son James, who also has a partner prepared for him. At Ness's new plantation, she is forced into a marriage with another enslaved man named Sam. Even though Sam doesn't speak English, they still form a bond and have a son named Kojo. After a woman hears Ness speaking Twi, she is given a chance to escape north. Ness, Sam, Kojo, and the woman escape north, but are caught. Ness and Sam voluntarily become caught, allowing for their son to head further north for freedom, as Ness is sent back to the plantation and Sam is hanged. I heavily recommend this book because it reveals a very dark part of a history in such a unique way. Every chapter is named after and is told from the perspective of Effia and Esi, and later on each of their descendants, from colonial times all the way to present day. There are many historical events discussed in the book, such as the Asante Wars, the Fugitive Slave Act, the Great Migration, the jazz age, and many more. This book can get a little confusing because there's a lot of characters, but getting everything sorted through just makes the book even better with more nuances.

艾菲亚·奥彻(Effia Otcher) 是一位出生在阿散蒂村庄(现属加纳)的年轻美女。她被嫁给了一名英国殖民者,在海岸角城堡(Cape Coast Castle)过着相对平静的生活。她并不知道,自己从未谋面的同父异母妹妹艾丝(Esi)此时正被关押在城堡下方的地牢里。艾菲亚在成长过程中深谙家族、村庄以及英国人的传统与期望。在城堡生活期间,艾菲亚生下了一个儿子叫魁(Quey);由于丈夫担心魁与岛上另一名男孩发展出同性恋情,便将他送往了英国。 艾丝是艾菲亚同父异母的妹妹。在一次对她村庄的袭击中,她被俘虏并关押在海岸角城堡的地牢。她的父母在袭击中丧生,在城堡被囚禁一段时间后,艾丝被作为奴隶卖到了大洋彼岸的美国。艾丝有一个女儿名叫内丝(Ness),在母女因受罚而被迫分离前,艾丝教会了她一些阿坎语(Twi)。 魁被送往英国后,带着团结英国人与阿散蒂人的任务回到了阿散蒂领地。艾菲亚的兄弟菲菲(Fiifi)和魁曾经倾心的男孩库卓(Cudjo)袭击了一个村庄,并带回了酋长的女儿。魁誓言娶这个女孩,因为他意识到这段婚姻将使阿散蒂人和芬蒂人联合起来。他们婚后生下儿子詹姆斯(James),而詹姆斯后来也被安排了结婚对象。 在内丝被卖到的新种植园里,她被迫与另一名被奴役的男子萨姆(Sam)结婚。尽管萨姆不会说英语,但两人依然建立了深厚的情感,并生下儿子科乔(Kojo)。一名女子在听到内丝说阿坎语后,给了她一个向北逃亡的机会。内丝、萨姆、科乔和那名女子一同向北逃跑,但中途被捕。内丝和萨姆为了让儿子能继续北上寻求自由,主动选择被捕。最终,内丝被送回种植园,而萨姆被处以绞刑。 推荐理由:本书以独特的方式揭示了一段非常黑暗的历史。书中的每一章都以人物命名,并从艾菲亚和艾丝以及她们后裔的视角展开叙述,时间跨度从殖民时期一直延伸到现代。书中探讨了许多历史事件,例如阿散蒂战争、《逃奴追缉法》、大迁徙、爵士乐时代等等。由于人物众多,阅读时可能会感到有些困惑,但理清人物关系后,会发现书中蕴含的微妙细节让整个故事更加精彩。