This novel is epic in scale - spanning seven generations of one family. Beginning in the 18th century, in the African Gold Coast (now Ghana) two sisters suffer very different fates - one is sold into slavery and the other becomes the wife of a slave trader. What follows shows the consequences for subsequent generations and how the slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries is still affecting people today. Though each chapter covers just a small snapshot in the life of each character, you still feel you get to know those characters. Sometimes the things that happen to them to shape both their lives and the lives of future generations are truly shocking and the book becomes more harrowing and thought provoking as it moves on through the generations and the reader begins to realise the impact of the slave trade on those subsequent generations. There is much for the reader to learn from this book, both in terms of history (the book as a whole tells us about the history of Ghana and it's struggle for independence; and slavery, emancipation and the civil rights movement in the USA) and the more subtle themes of race and identity and the way our history affects us all.
A very powerful and thought provoking read that I would highly recommend.
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