What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedHomegoing
Yaa Gyasi · Book · 2016
If you loved Homegoing, start with Roots (Alex Haley, 1977) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Homegoing across media.
What hooked you in Homegoing was the way sweeping historical narratives reveal the intimate, lasting impact of intergenerational trauma on identity.
Films on the same thread
Gone with the Wind
Victor Fleming · Film · 1939
Explores: Survival, Reconstruction Era, Lost Cause.
Much like the expansive scope of Homegoing, this epic explores how massive historical shifts and the legacy of plantation life shape the personal romantic destinies of its central characters.
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen · Film · 2013
Explores: Injustice, Survival, Loss of Freedom.
This harrowing journey mirrors the visceral exploration of the slave trade found in Homegoing, focusing on the brutal loss of freedom and the persistent struggle to maintain human dignity.
Out of Africa
Sydney Pollack · Film · 1985
Explores: Colonialism, Self-Discovery, Forbidden Love.
This portrait of colonial life in Africa echoes the cultural clashes depicted in Homegoing, examining how personal identity is constructed against a backdrop of distant, often oppressive, foreign influence.
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins · Film · 2016
Explores: identity, sexuality, self-discovery.
While the setting differs, this film captures the same profound focus on ancestral and personal identity found in Homegoing, tracing how one man’s life is defined across three distinct chapters.
Series on the same thread
Roots
Alex Haley · Series · 1977
Shares a thread with Homegoing: Cultural Identity.
This foundational family saga shares the DNA of Homegoing, tracing a lineage across generations to examine how the enduring weight of slavery and ancestral memory shapes a modern family.
Pachinko
Soo Hugh · Series · 2022
Shares 2 threads with Homegoing: Cultural Identity, Intergenerational Trauma.
Fans of the multigenerational structure of Homegoing will appreciate this sweeping immigrant story, which follows a family across decades as they navigate cultural displacement, resilience, and the echoes of history.
The Haunting of Hill House
Mike Flanagan · Series · 2018
Explores: Trauma, Family Secrets, Mental Illness.
The way this story moves between past and present to address familial grief reflects the same preoccupation with ancestral haunting and unresolved trauma that defines the heart of Homegoing.
The Underground Railroad
Barry Jenkins · Series · 2021
Explores: The horrors of slavery, The fight for freedom, Hope amidst despair.
This narrative reimagines the horrors of the antebellum South with the same intensity seen in Homegoing, using a unique structural lens to explore the physical and psychological search for freedom.
Podcasts on the same thread
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
This documentary series provides the essential historical context for the themes of systemic racism and national legacy that Yaa Gyasi masterfully wove into the fictional narrative of Homegoing.
Inherited
Podcast
Explores: family history, traditions, cultural heritage.
This podcast explores the specific rituals and relics passed down through families, offering a contemporary, intimate look at the concepts of heritage and ancestral influence central to Homegoing.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Homegoing based on historical events?
Homegoing is a work of fiction set in eighteenth-century Ghana. It follows the divergent paths of two half-sisters, one of whom marries an Englishman while the other is captured. The narrative explores their family lineage and experiences across generations beginning in the 1700s.
What is the primary setting of Homegoing?
The story of Homegoing begins in eighteenth-century Ghana. The narrative follows two half-sisters who are born into different villages, with one sister living in the Cape Coast Castle and the other facing capture. These distinct locations set the stage for the generational journey depicted in the book.
Has Homegoing won any literary awards?
Yes, Homegoing has received significant critical acclaim. It is an international bestseller and a winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. Additionally, the novel was honored with the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for its impact as a debut work.
How does Homegoing start?
Homegoing begins in eighteenth-century Ghana with the birth of two half-sisters in different villages. They remain unaware of each other's existence as their lives take drastically different paths, with one sister marrying an Englishman in the Cape Coast Castle and the other being captured.