Homegoing is an intense generational story of a family torn apart by the historical crime of the transatlantic slave trade. The narrative moves along between branches of the family (each person gets a chapter), impressing the scale of events on you like being crushed to death by stones. 
 The phrase 'the slaves were sold by Africans too' is often used by Confederate apologists - that is, those who want to deny or ignore the fact that they live in a social system established by slave labor. But though that fact is abused, it is an awful truth. Still there is no long-term benefit from participation in this system. There is the stain of complicity, and any material gains are dwarfed by the humiliating presence of colonization. Fire and water are two recurring images in this book - being caught between the twin dehumanizations of colonial rule versus disenfranchisement. These are vast historical processes, but they affect individuals. 
 My only point of difference - and this is a small one - is that some of these chapters feel a little like vignettes, and that the characters in them deserve more time and attention than what they get. I see a slice from one person's life, and we want to know more before we move on to the next. But this is a fearsome book.