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whitneysederberg's review against another edition
3.0
i really appreciate the dialogue on immigrant/poc relationships with white churches, i don’t think i’ve heard anyone talk about that before. very interesting book, but lacked general organization. it feels pretty autobiographical, but the narrator has no character development and comes across as too perfect a lot of the time, so i didn’t find her very likable. kept my attention the whole way through but i don’t think i’m going to remember much about this book by next week.
alwaysairie's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know if I like this book as much as I did Homegoing but I don't care. This work was beautiful! I like Homegoing because it was an easy enough book to put in new adults readers hands and since I'm always trying to push so and so to pick up reading Homegoing was more than a book I love it was one that I loved sharing with others, friends, family or literally complete strangers.
But "Transcendent Kingdom" is mine. I did read this as a buddy read with a couple of friends and as a usual finished the book way before they made a dent in it but I like that because this book was very intimate, it felt like someone opening up to you, at the end of the narrative when Gifty says that Han knows her she doesn't need to explain it further because I think we all feel after reading those pages that we know her too.
Yaa Gyasi created a character that felt so alive that you're reading a fictional autobiography. And it hits so close to heart! The complex feelings of Gifty are described with so much precision and skill that I have a hard time separating the character from the author now, my mind latching on every small similarity between Gifty and Yaa.
I always say that I believe art is the intersection between expression and craft it's this balance between what someone has to say and how well they mastered their skill at expressing those thoughts and/or feelings. And honestly, this novel here is a piece of art, profoundly black and intelligent it touches you by its smart and thoughtful that makes you question without bringing you down.
I could go on about the dynamics between the characters, the relatability factor even if my life never even looked close to what Gifty went through. About how Yaa manages to ponder on life questions that are so important to humans and especially black people in America with a great depth in less than 300 pages.
But the bottom line is, just buy this book, support the author, talk about it, recommend it because this work is worth even more praise that it received until today and honestly... Where are the awards for this? Huh?! Not even longlisted for national book awards really? Nothing? Well, y'all n***as tripping
A Magnificent
But "Transcendent Kingdom" is mine. I did read this as a buddy read with a couple of friends and as a usual finished the book way before they made a dent in it but I like that because this book was very intimate, it felt like someone opening up to you, at the end of the narrative when Gifty says that Han knows her she doesn't need to explain it further because I think we all feel after reading those pages that we know her too.
Yaa Gyasi created a character that felt so alive that you're reading a fictional autobiography. And it hits so close to heart! The complex feelings of Gifty are described with so much precision and skill that I have a hard time separating the character from the author now, my mind latching on every small similarity between Gifty and Yaa.
I always say that I believe art is the intersection between expression and craft it's this balance between what someone has to say and how well they mastered their skill at expressing those thoughts and/or feelings. And honestly, this novel here is a piece of art, profoundly black and intelligent it touches you by its smart and thoughtful that makes you question without bringing you down.
I could go on about the dynamics between the characters, the relatability factor even if my life never even looked close to what Gifty went through. About how Yaa manages to ponder on life questions that are so important to humans and especially black people in America with a great depth in less than 300 pages.
But the bottom line is, just buy this book, support the author, talk about it, recommend it because this work is worth even more praise that it received until today and honestly... Where are the awards for this? Huh?! Not even longlisted for national book awards really? Nothing? Well, y'all n***as tripping
A Magnificent
shimmery's review
5.0
Growing up, Gifty’s whole world was her mother, brother and God. Her father left their family to return to Ghana when she was still a young child, and her mother worked all hours to take care of Gifty and her brother Nana. Tall and athletically gifted, Nana is star of the local basketball team until an accident results in him being prescribed medication which he eventually becomes addicted to.
It’s so impressive how gracefully Gyasi explores faith, grief, love, addiction, immigration and depression in this book, which goes at a gentle pace and manages to have a lot of beauty even with the sadness of the subject matter.
I’m not always a fan of books that have a scientist character and therefore a lot of science stuff in them as it can feel as though the author has done a bunch of research and just ladled it in. But reading this I was convinced that the author had essentially lived Gifty’s life and was wondering how she had managed to write two acclaimed novels while doing a PhD in neuroscience. That is to say that here it is incorporated seamlessly — Gyasi is not a neuroscientist but rather an excellent writer who has written something so moving and beautiful here that it feels like a memoir.
It’s so impressive how gracefully Gyasi explores faith, grief, love, addiction, immigration and depression in this book, which goes at a gentle pace and manages to have a lot of beauty even with the sadness of the subject matter.
I’m not always a fan of books that have a scientist character and therefore a lot of science stuff in them as it can feel as though the author has done a bunch of research and just ladled it in. But reading this I was convinced that the author had essentially lived Gifty’s life and was wondering how she had managed to write two acclaimed novels while doing a PhD in neuroscience. That is to say that here it is incorporated seamlessly — Gyasi is not a neuroscientist but rather an excellent writer who has written something so moving and beautiful here that it feels like a memoir.
connieyou's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As a woman in STEM, I ate this up! Loved how Gifty's research was a tool for her to process and make sense of grief, addiction and mental illness. And I love even more how she develops a small support system with her fellow researchers. For a book with such heavy topics, I was pleasantly surprised by how hopeful it made me feel 🤍
elifer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sebastianrutter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ericfreemantx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Lots to grapple with, including science vs faith, loss vs risk, and CA vs AL.
catherinemorganowen's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
happylilkt's review against another edition
4.0
Can humans transcend the animal kingdom? This is Gifty's question as she muses on addiction, depression, philosophy, religion, science, and personal trauma in this short, carefully crafted novel. Memories of trauma and her seemingly stunted religious strivings of childhood in Alabama are interspersed with her Stanford graduate school experiences of fighting writer's block, caregiving, and navigating adult relationships.
The novel has a quiet, restrained tone that matches its quiet, intensely private narrator (as well as its cover's muted palette). The characterization, though not the focus of this novel, is strong; the pacing is slow, but even.
This is NOT a book with a lot of action. It is not vivid in color. It is focused on the internal life of its narrator. While Gifty gives the reader some plot spoilers right away, we are left in suspense as to the narrator's own healing and whether or not she will find meaning in suffering. Gifty is perhaps implicitly prodding the reader to examine with her these questions and the bias she (and the reader?) might bring to answering them.
This was my first reading of Yaa Gyasi, (though I had [b:Homegoing|27071490|Homegoing|Yaa Gyasi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1448108591l/27071490._SY75_.jpg|47113792] checked out from the library last year and meant to read it...) I will definitely seek out that book again.
The novel has a quiet, restrained tone that matches its quiet, intensely private narrator (as well as its cover's muted palette). The characterization, though not the focus of this novel, is strong; the pacing is slow, but even.
This is NOT a book with a lot of action. It is not vivid in color. It is focused on the internal life of its narrator. While Gifty gives the reader some plot spoilers right away, we are left in suspense as to the narrator's own healing and whether or not she will find meaning in suffering. Gifty is perhaps implicitly prodding the reader to examine with her these questions and the bias she (and the reader?) might bring to answering them.
This was my first reading of Yaa Gyasi, (though I had [b:Homegoing|27071490|Homegoing|Yaa Gyasi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1448108591l/27071490._SY75_.jpg|47113792] checked out from the library last year and meant to read it...) I will definitely seek out that book again.