Homegoing vs The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: African American, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction
Homegoing
“The night Effia Otcher was born into the musky heat of Fanteland, a fire raged through the woods just outside her father’s compound.”
Homegoing is the debut historical fiction novel by Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi, published in 2016. Each chapter in the novel follows a different descendant of an Asante woman named Maame, starting with her two…
vs
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got…
The verdict
- Readers rate Homegoing highest: Homegoing 4.5 · The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store 3.9.
- Homegoing is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 10 for The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store has the widest readership — 341058 ratings behind its score.
- Homegoing runs the darker storyline; The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
Homegoing
≈ 5h vs 10h for The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Want the crowd-tested pick?
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
341058 ratings vs 1890 for Homegoing
Just want the better-reviewed one?
Homegoing
4.5 vs 3.9 from readers
In the mood for something dark?
Homegoing
a darker storyline than The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Want something lighter?
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
an easier tone than Homegoing
Scores by source
| Homegoing | The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (341058) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 3.9 (252) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1890) | 4.0 (3210) |
Reception
| Homegoing | The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1890 | 341058 |
| Editions | 32 | 10 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 461547 |
| Reading it now | — | 48455 |
| Written reviews | — | 35951 |
| Wikipedia attention | 5134 | 3619 |
| Pages | 320 | 561 |