Book: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi
Cover Photography by Don Smith
Cover Design by Darren Haggar
Edition: Paperback
Description:
A renowned surgeon and failed husband, Kweku Sai dies suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of his death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before. Moving with great elegance through time and place, Ghana Must Go charts their circuitous journey to one another and, along the way, teaches us that the truths we speak can heal the wounds we hide.
Electric, exhilarating and beautifully crafted, Ghana Must Go is at once a portrait of a modern family and a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent, Taiye Selasi.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Ghana Must Go may have started off slow but it quickly turned into a compelling and emotional story.
The story which was told in two parts dealt with the past and present as it centers around the Sai family, husband Dr. Kweku, wife Fola and their children: son Olu, twins daughter Taiwo and son Kehinde and daughter Sadie. In the first part, Dr. Kweku Sai was slowly dying alone in the yard of his home in Accra, Ghana. As he lay there, Kweku recalls his life, his family and his mistakes. As a young boy, his poor background in Ghana seemed to motivate him to pursue his goal of becoming a doctor. His drive and achievement would eventual lead to medical school, meeting Fola, marriage their four children and a residency at a Boston hospital.
Everything seemed to be working out for the Sai family, however, there was an undercurrent of mounting pressure and isolation. The pressure continued for Dr. Sai after a situation at the hospital left him getting unfairly blamed resulting in the loss of his job. He kept this a secret from his family as he tried to handle it legally. I don't know why he didn't tell them but I guess he felt pressure to succeed and was embarrassed about the entire situation. That just made everything so much worse because after a humiliating situation at the hospital that his son Kehinde witnessed, Dr. Sai made an impulsive decision to leave his family. This would cause a ripple effect that would last for years.
The second part of the story focused on the family years after they have dealt with Dr. Sai leaving them. The reader finds out what happened to them as they moved on with their lives as well as their reaction to the news that Kweku died. There is a lot of separation and isolation and misunderstanding within this family that stem from a variety of reasons from some of the now adult children's still preconceived notion of favoritism from their mother to something extremely traumatic and devastating that happened to the twins Taiwo and Kehinde.
Heartfelt, sweeping and achingly emotional, Ghana Must Go shows the turmoil and happiness the Sai family goes through. Despite the slow start, this was a very well-written story. There is this layered unhappiness that clings to this family and it made me wonder why they couldn't talk things out instead of letting sadness, resentment and anger build. I guess at times it does seem easier not to talk but as in this family's case ignoring things until they fester and grow only makes it worse. Due to Kweku's death, Fola and her children reunited and I thought this is just what they all needed to finally shake off the past and get a chance to really connect and to become a family.
I do want to mention that there is one part in this story that's hard to read because it concerns a sexual assault. Although this is a good read, I didn't want a reader to be caught by surprise.
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