Ancestor Stones 1

Ancestor Stones begins with Abie traveling from England to her homeland of Africa to take over her family's coffee plantation. However, the main focus throughout the book is not on Abie. Instead, each of her four aunts takes us on a journey though her family's troubled history. The first five chapters introduce each of her aunts and tells mostly of their childhoods. I find the book to be very poetic, and surprisingly easy to read.



I find myself wondering why the book is titled Ancestor Stones, although I did find the part about Miriama and her mother very interesting, and of course, disturbing. I almost wanted to cry for her poor mother after her father threw away her stones. But I found Miriama's mother to be very courageous and noble. As Miriama herself points out, her mother was the only one unwilling to let go of her traditional religion and convert to either Christianity or Islam. Her stones connected her to her own parents as well as her other ancestors, and she refused to let go of their memory and what they stood for. So perhaps that is why Aminatta Forna picked the title that she did. It's about refusing to let go of your traditions in a world that seems so set on becoming "European."