You love books, we love books. We thought it was about time we started our own club

While reading is an intimate, meditative experience, huge pleasure comes from sharing the thoughts, emotions and reflections derived from it. It’s so much fun when a friend happens to be reading the same book, and we can analyse it over and over! So we are excited to start a book club with you and all join in together.

Starting in this issue, we’re going to propose a book we love and think you will, too. We hope you’ll join us in reading it during the two months between this issue and the next, and that you’ll share your thoughts and pictures with us on social media using the hashtag #ohcobookclub. You can also email us at [email protected] or send us a letter at Iceberg Press, 40 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0NE.

Book 1: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

To kick us off is the breathtaking debut novel Homegoing, by Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi. Set in Africa and America, the story starts in the 18th century with two sisters, Effia and Esi, who are born in different villages in Ghana, and suffer two completely different fates: the former is married off to an English slaver, the latter sold into slavery. The novel follows their descendants and  their journeys, jumping from generation to generation as it advances through chapters – and… Well, we won’t spoil it for you! It’s an incredible, captivating story of the legacy of slavery and the importance of history, and we bet you’ll be hooked from the opening line. 

We’ll publish a selection of your thoughts in our next issue, along with a Q&A with Yaa.

WIN!

The publishers of Homegoing, Penguin Viking, have kindly given us fresh-off-the-printer copies to give away to five lucky readers. To be in with a chance of winning, simply click here and answer the question before 6 March 2017 so we have time to send you your book before next issue. Good luck!