For me this is a remarkable novel for two reasons in particular:
1. It gives the reader a deep understanding of the mechanisms of slavery and colonialism.
2. The book shows how decisions in history determines our live. The reason most of us live in a free world, have a right to vote, human rights. Things generations and millions of people fought and died for.

Yaa Gyasi tells the story of two family trees beginning with two sisters that were seperated at the start of the 18th century. The reader joins the story at the gold coast (eastern africa, ghana), where colonialism by the british people is on its peek. Effia, one of the sisters, become married to a british officeri, living in a castle built by the british. Under the castle the daily horror of slavery takes place. Effias folk. the fantes, had sealed a pact with the british bringing them slaves. Mostly people of the folk Asante, the captured in their fights against them. Esi, the other sister is one of those. She lives with 200 hundred other women in a prison below the castle under terrifying conditions, until she get eventually sold to america.
Esis ancestors went through the hell of slavery. Working on plantages, owned by some white people. No rights at all. Their master could do whatever they want to them. For instances, Esis daughter Ness got nearly flogged to death for a bagatelle. Yaa Gyasi is really good in telling the historian context while focusing on the characters. When we join Kojo, Ness Son, who lives as a free man because he was able to run away with his surrogate mother, a new law is passed the allows to bring them back to south and under slavery when they are runaways. The law is never explained in its details, but the implication of it in the daily live of black people. The story continues to the life of people in the coal mine, the beginning of civil rights movements like the NAACP and ends up in the present, where your destiny of live in america is still partly determined by your color.
Effias ancestors keep on living at the gold coast. For me the story of the Fantes and Assantes is a great example of how 'divide-and-conquer' works. The british can keep up the slave trades or rather rip off the country so easily, because they use the conflicts between the folks in their favour. Although everybody of the Fantes knows whats going on, they arrange with it because they profit and its much easier. When Effias son, who even stayed in england for visiting a school, comes back he mainly does paper work. Mostly reading some numbers which abstract very well from the real people behind them (reminded me at people like Eichmann). Effias grandson James finally decides to stop this living and starting a new live far away from his parents, overcoming this injustices of slavery. Later on, when no more slaves where sold to other countries, the white people came again with their christianity, another tool to enslave people, telling them how to live. Furthermore, this part of the story has many interesting insights in the african culture and the role of men and women. It is much about living and overcome traditions, asking about the own heritage and history of your land. I think the review is already long enough, so I come to my conclusion:
This book really touched me, I have to say. It's only about 300 sides but in its own it has a history of 300 years. Many times, for instance when i was reading in the train, i was near to crying. Reading about these injustices that occured to these persons. Reading about the live as a slave, the rapes the occured to women. At some point I just needed to stop reading. But the book is worthwile reading it, believe me.