This is the story of a family of the simple, devastating ways in which families tear themselves apart, and of the incredible lengths to which a family will go to put itself back together. Ghana must go was the surprise book club choice for october. Introducing a powerful new novelist whose evocation of an unforgettable african family is testament to the transformative power of unconditional love kwaku sai is dead. Mar 10, 20 ghana must go does offer a more interesting explanation for kwekus departure. About a year ago, nell freudenberger called taiye selasi s ghana must go an ambitious first novel in the new york times, and observed that ambitious has a different meaning on each side of the north atlantic. Nov, 2016 ghana must go was the surprise book club choice for october.
Selasi s novel is a story of immigration, family, the long term ramifications of choices made, and an attempt to peer beyond the stereotypes of africa and africans. Taiye selasis first novel follows a splintered ghanaiannigerian family across continents and generations. Oct 08, 2015 ghana must go the title referring to both the expulsion of ghanaian immigrants from nigeria in 1983 as a result of a boom and bust in the oil industry, and the distinctive white, red and blue travel bags they used to transport their belongings tells the story of the sai family. But then tillytilly and fern seem to merge again, as tillytilly tells jess. Ghana must go ebook by taiye selasi 9781101605776 rakuten. May 27, 20 ghana must go by taiye selasi kweku sai is dead. Taiye selasi is of ghanian descent and the books title draws from the name of a bag that is used to carry large quantities. Introducing a powerful new novelist whose evocation of an unforgettable african family is testament to the transformative power of unconditional lovekwaku sai is dead.
Meet the sais, a nigerianghanaian family living in the united states. Taiye selasis debut novel, ghana must go, centers on the sai family, a fractured clan of overachieving jetsetters who, like selasi, are immigrants of ghanaian and nigerian descent. Her debut novel, ghana must go, is first and foremost a family saga, but it is also an immigrant. To make matters worse, firstly, i have not read any novel so far with so many short sentences, sometimes even without an action word, the verb, making. Ghana must go was a tough read because 1 the authors style is poetic and not always forwardmoving, 2 the character focus shifts without warning and it takes time to determine who youre reading about, and 3 it is extremely painful. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ghana must go.
In 2010 penguin press bought selasis unfinished novel ghana must go which has now been sold in. With mesmerizing craftsmanship and massive imagination she takes the. She lives in rome, new york and new delhi, and also works with photography and film. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted, ghana must go is a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent. As farreaching as the novel feels, at its heart it is the story of one family. May 28, 2014 ghana must go by taiye selasi after watching masterpiece, the madeinitaly talent show for aspiring writers that during the last season aroused every kind of criticism all over the world, i obviously was curious to read taiye selasis work. The bonds of love, loss and misunderstanding connecting an african family are exhaustively dissected in a convoluted first novel. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The sex lives of african girls, selasi s fiction debut, appeared in best american short stories 2012. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted, ghana must go follows the sais journey, moving with great elegance through time and place to share the truths hidden and lies told, the crimes committed in the name of love. This complicated cast is matched by selasis taste for fragmented, overloaded sentences. A stunning novel, spanning generations and continents, ghana must go by rising star taiye selasi is a tale of family drama and forgiveness, for fans of zadie smith and chimamanda ngozi adichie. Ghana must go by taiye selasi extract books the guardian. By the time the surviving five convene at a funeral in ghana, we are invested. Shame and parental betrayal are central themes in ghana must go, taiye selasis heartbreaking first novel. Selasi graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa with a ba in american studies from yale, and earned her mphil in international relations from. The title comes from a nigerian phrase from the 1980s regarding incoming ghanaian refugees, moving away from the political unrest that dogged the nation. Electric, exhilarating, and beautifully crafted, ghana must go introduces the world to taiye selasi, a novelist of extraordinary talent. In ghana must go, taiye selasi gives us a cast of characters who pull apart and come together to tell a story with an immaculate sense of truth, tenderness, and severity. Mar 22, 20 ghana must go by taiye selasi extract in this extract from the authors novel about a family torn apart by events, a student encounters us misconceptions of africa taiye selasi. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from accra to lagos to london to new york, ghana must go teaches that the truths we speak can. The death of kweku sai, a noted surgeon, in the garden of his home in accra, ghana, on page one is followed by an impressionistic account of his lifeglimpses of childhood and parenthood, moments of shame and bad decisions, regrets, ironies and final thoughts.
Ghana must go, 20, taiye selasi i am glad i did not purchase this book when it was first published, with all the marketing hype and i am not even sure still why the title ghana must go. In a sweeping narrative that takes readers from accra to lagos to london to new york, it is at once a portrait of a modern family and. In a sweeping narrative that takes readers from accra to lagos to london to new york, it is at once a portrait of a modern family and an exploration of the importance of where we come from to who we are. A renowned surgeon and failed husband, he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban accra. Ghana must go does offer a more interesting explanation for kwekus departure. Ghana must go, was a popular name given to the migration of illegal migrants mostly ghanaians from nigeria following a presidential executive order in 1983, the president of nigeria, shehu shagari issued an executive order mandating immigrants without proper immigration documents to leave the country or they would be arrested according to the law. Family sagas generally start with a joyous birthor, as in the case of taiye selasis debut novel, an unexpected death. Exploring afropolitan identity formation in taiye selasis ghana must go and chimamanda adichies americanah selasi 2005 states, you will know us by our funny blend of london fa shion, new york jargon, african ethics and, academic successes. The novel follows the sai family as they come to terms with their father kweku sais death, and as they work through family troubles. Despite these challenges, ghana must go moved my soul, which is why i rated it four stars. In the wake of kwakus death, the family gathers in ghana at the home of their mother, fola. Ghana must go 20 follows a ghanaiannigerian family back and forth across the atlantic as first the parents, then the children, must come to terms with transnational living.
Jun 27, 20 in ghana must go, taiye selasi gives us a cast of characters who pull apart and come together to tell a story with an immaculate sense of truth, tenderness, and severity. Born in london to nigerian and ghanaian parents, taiye selasi was raised in massachusetts. Ghana must go taiye selasi 9780670065707 netgalley. A buoyant and rapturous debut novel the wall street journal about the transformative power of unconditional love electric, exhilarating, and beautifully crafted, ghana must go introduces the world to taiye selasi, a novelist of extraordinary talent. Apr 03, 20 taiye selasi the debut author of the eagerly anticipated novel, ghana must go, writes about her shame at her family history and how she learned to be herself in africa published. When 53yearold kweku sai keels over from a heart attack in his elegant backyard garden, the news quickly travels all the way from ghana to america, wreaking havoc on his estranged adult. Guilt, shame, and the generative queer in taiye selasis ghana. In her ambitious debut, ghana must go, she brings us into the world of bright, urban professionals, raised in the united states, but with roots in africa. Ghana must go by taiye selasi posted on may 8, 2018 by damien leave a reply when i took advantage of a free saturday between two work weeks in ghana to explore elmina and cape coast, on the coast west of accra, i was surprised by the amount and the size of the funerals i could see from the road or in the towns. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from accra to lagos to london to new york, ghana must go teaches that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hide. That still farther, past free, there lay loved, in her laughter, lay home in her touch, in the soft of her afro. Buy a cheap copy of ghana must go book by taiye selasi. Jan 02, 2014 ghana must go is a big novel, elemental, meditative, and mesmerizing sapphire, author of the kid and push in ghana must go, selasi drives the six characters skillfully through past and present, unearthing old betrayals and unexplained grievances at a delicious pace. When i took advantage of a free saturday between two work weeks in ghana to explore elmina and cape coast, on the coast west of accra, i was surprised by the amount and the size of the funerals i could see from the road or in the towns.
Sefi atta, helon habila, taiye selasi, and teju cole shuttle between the. Selasi is the sort of talent described as precocious, only 33 and already considered a rising star. Selasi i dont remember doing this, but i must have sent a manuscript for that short story to the u. In the british sense, ambitious is a barelyburied criticism of people who would presume to rise above their station, so freudenberger is quick to clarify that she. In 2010 penguin press bought selasi s unfinished novel ghana must go which has now been sold in 16 countries. The news of kwakus death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he. Family sagas generally start with a joyous birthor, as in the case of taiye selasi s debut novel, an unexpected death. This is one of the experiences felt and shared in ghana must go by taiye selasi. Taiye selasi was born in london, and raised in brookline, massachusetts, the elder of twin daughters in a family of physicians. Ghana must go by taiye selasi reading guidebook club. Ghana must go seems to contain the entire world, and i shall never forget it. Mar 05, 20 electric, exhilarating, and beautifully crafted, ghana must go introduces the world to taiye selasi, a novelist of extraordinary talent. The news of kwekus death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before. Firstly when economic crises in 1983 and 1985 resulted in the expulsion, at short notice, of approximately 2 million ghanaian immigrants from nigeria, the bags most readily used as suitcases were christened ghana must go.
A buoyant and rapturous debut novel the wall street journal about the. Taiye selasi joins diane to discuss her new novel, ghana must go. Her debut novel, ghana must go, is first and foremost a family saga, but it is also an immigrant tale and a story of africa. Click to read more about ghana must go by taiye selasi. A family prospering until the day father and surgeon kweku sai is victim of a grave injustice. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted pdf, ghana must go is a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent. There was one particularly telling line in taiye selasis essay byebye, barbar or. T he title of taiye selasis book ghana must go 20 caught my attention for several reasons. The debut novel from londonborn taiye selasi, ghana must go is a comingofage tale of family destruction and suffering. Its the story of an african immigrant family brought together by their fathers death after he abandoned them as children.
The sex lives of african girls granta, 2011, selasis fiction debut, will appear in the best american short stories 2012. This essay maintains that where afropolitanism has been contested in several critical quarters, taiye selasis debut novel, ghana must go. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Taiye selasi is a totally new and near perfect voice that spans continents and social strata as effortlessly as the insertion of an ellipsis or a dash. It was published in 20, and nominated for an naacp image award. Ghana must go by taiye selasi extract in this extract from the authors novel about a family torn apart by events, a student encounters us misconceptions of africa taiye selasi. Taiye selasi born 2 november 1979 is a britishamerican writer and photographer. About a year ago, nell freudenberger called taiye selasis ghana must go an ambitious first novel in the new york times, and observed that ambitious has a different meaning on each side of the north atlantic. Ghana must go by taiye selasi after watching masterpiece, the madeinitaly talent show for aspiring writers that during the last season aroused every kind of criticism all over the world, i obviously was curious to read taiye selasis work. It may not be forgotten but it isnt the place youre currently in and possibly going. The novel is told largely through back story as it begins with the fathers death in ghana where he has gone after leaving his. Ghana must go is at once a portrait of a modern family, and an exploration of the importance of where we come from to who we are.
Taiye selasi was born in london and raised in massachusetts. The novel is set around the family of kweku sai, long isolated from one another, coming together in ghana for his funeral. Its a stunning debut, as exceptional as the deserving hype that preceded it. A renowned surgeon and failed husband, he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside the home he shares in ghana with his second wife. Novelist taiye selasi coined the word afropolitanism eight years ago to refer to educated, multilingual, multiethnic africans living around the globe. Kweku and folasade are both immigrants him from ghana and her from nigeria, who meet in the u. When 53yearold kweku sai keels over from a heart attack in his elegant backyard garden, the news quickly travels all the way from ghana to america, wreaking havoc on his estranged adult children. Lagos wood, which in ghana must go not only help the twins kehinde and taiwo keep in. Taiye selasis ghana must go 20 examines afropolitanism, osten sibly a successful.
But ghana must go is a richer, wider exploration of some of the same issues. This paper focuses on taiye selasis ghana must go 20 and shows. Taiye selasis ghana must go by aaron bady march 8, 2014 about a year ago, nell freudenberger called taiye selasis ghana must go an ambitious first novel in the new york times, and observed that ambitious has a different meaning on each side of the north atlantic. She graduated summa cum laude from yale before returning to england to earn an m. Afropolitan space invading between neoliberalization and. Taiye selasi has written one novel, ghana must go and two short stories, byebye, babar and the sex lives of african girls. Moving with great elegance through time and place, ghana must go charts the sais circuitous journey to one another. A buoyant and rapturous debut novel the wall street journal about the transformative power of unconditional loveelectric, exhilarating, and beautifully crafted, ghana must go introduces the world to taiye selasi, a novelist of extraordinary talent. In a sweeping narrative that takes readers from accra to lagos to london to new york, it is at once a portrait. Read ghana must go a novel by taiye selasi available from rakuten kobo. And over a year later, i write 100 pages of ghana must go. Despite its intriguing premise of a story of entwining generations and cultures, this is a book that, finally, fails to grab hold of you in the way that it could and should. Ghana must go explores the diversity of relationships in modern families. Ghana must go ghana must go audiobook, by taiye selasi.