“What’s the point of all of this?” is a question that separates humans from other animals. Our curiosity around this issue has sparked everything from science to literature to philosophy to religion. When the answer to this question is “Because God deemed it so,” we might feel comforted. But what if the answer to this question is “I don’t know,” or worse still, “Nothing”?”

Wowwwww where to begin with this beautiful book!?

This book is fiercely intimate, powerful and deals with some incredibly troubling themes and ideas so if need be please check the trigger warnings!

Told through the perspective of Gifty, we delve deep into the portrait of a family blighted by the harrowing effects of addiction.

In contrast to Homegoing, which follows seven generations, this book focusses solely on Gifty’s close family and is just so beautiful and heart wrenching. Gifty’s brother suffers from addiction issues, and we witness the aftermath of destruction that results from this.

Themes of religion, science, faith and grief all bleed into one another and pose serious questions about life’s purpose. Gifty wrestles with her faith following her and her family’s grief and this is also coupled with her career in science that results in her questioning the feasibility of religion.

I truly just can’t quite summarise how powerful this book is. Yaa Gyasi is unbelievably talented and is forever and always an auto-buy author for me. I think I even preferred this to Homegoing which is miraculous in itself because I think everyone knows by now how much I loved that book.