HOMEGOING

by Yaa Gyasi (Viking £12.99)

APPARENTLY this debut novel is now required reading for students at California’s elite Stanford university.

it’s easy to see why: though Homegoing comes in at a mere 300 pages, it spans eight generations and addresses unforgettably the legacy of slavery across two continents and three centuries.

each chapter belongs to a new descendant of two Ghanaian halfsisters, and the action moves between Africa and America. it might sound confusing, but Gyasi’s compelling protagonists — be they slave or student, prisoner or teacher — carry the reader with them.

Ambition and talent don’t always go hand- in- hand; here, they unquestionably do.