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Lauded author Yaa Gyasi to visit Bristol
Yaa Gyasi is the author of one of the most eagerly anticipated books of 2017 – and one of the most talked-about debut novels in years. She will be in Bristol later this month to introduce and discuss that novel, Homegoing (Viking, £12.99). It has received a rapturous reception, with critics falling over themselves to praise the work since its US publication last year.
Zoe Steadman-Milne from the Festival of Ideas, who are producing the event in association with Spike Island and Waterstones, says: “Homegoing is already my favourite book of 2017. A family saga, a tightly told page-turner, a captivating and moving history of two nations that have formed each other and the consequences that are still apparent today.
“Each chapter could be read as a stand-alone short story. Together, they create a moving and exhilarating novel. As soon as I finished reading, I turned back to the first page and started again.”
is needed now More than ever
Other reactions to the novel have been equally enthusiastic.
“Homegoing is a novel I wish I could have read when I was a young woman,” praised Zadie Smith. “An intelligent, beautiful and healing read, destined to become a classic.”
Cathy Rentzenbrink in The Times called the work “a beautiful, wise and illuminating novel… I expect to see it win prizes,” while The Guardian’s Kate Kellaway called it simply “an astonishing epic”, and The Pool expects the novel to speak to a generation in the same way that Toni Morrison’s Beloved achieved 30 years ago.
The novel follows the lives of two sisters – one sold into slavery, the other married to a slave trader – and the impact of their histories on the generations that follow.
Gyasi’s Bristol gig is one of only a handful of events on her UK tour, and represents a brilliant opportunity for Bristol readers and writers to catch a rising talent at the start of what looks set to be a very significant writing career.
The event, at Waterstones in the Galleries on Wednesday, January 25, starts at 7pm. Tickets are £6 and can be booked in advance from the Festival of Ideas website, www.ideasfestival.co.uk/events/novel-writers-yaa-gyasi
Author portrait: Michael Lionstar
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