The first 153 pages of Homegoing starts by introducing the lives of Effia and Esi. They are half sisters that share the same mother. Their mother gave both of them a small stone to keep with them, so as the story goes on the reader learns that the narrative is following two bloodlines: one is Effia’s and the other is Esi’s.
The sisters live dramatically different lives. Effiamarries a white man and lives a privileged life in a castle, while Esi is forced to live in the castle’s dungeon. One particularly disturbing scene describes how Esi is up to her ankles in human feces and is taken by a guard to be raped. The book is not for the faint of heart, but the read is well worth it.
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