Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Maa ja taivas by Yaa Gyasi

249 reviews

lenni_sc's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

k8iekat's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Violence

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

alysereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed Gifty’s perspective as an immigrant and her relationship with her mother and brother. Some moments were profoundly sad. I also liked the weaving and exploration of science and religion, and the experiences as a neuro PhD researcher. I had a hard time finishing this because of it’s strong focus on religion, but I still enjoyed it, and may reread one day, because it’s very layered. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Xenophobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

lainemill's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt

storykath's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Transcendent Kingdom tells the story of Gifty and her family, alternating between her childhood in Alabama and her present-day life as a PhD student in California. As her brother faces drug addiction, her mother mental illness, Gifty deals with their effects on her life while also growing up with complex views on religion, race, and love.

While much of the subject matter in this book was heavy, it never felt like a burden to read. Gifty's narration, both as a child and as an adult, is engaging, raw, and immersive. Her inner world is complex, flawed, and wholly believable, and there is similar nuanced characterization given to all the other characters in Gifty's life. The world of the story, including Gifty's neuroscience lab, Ghanaian culture, and evangelical Christianity, are all described in fascinating detail, and are just as well thought-out as the characters.

I found the alternating timeline to be refreshing and ideal for the pacing of the book. Key childhood moments occurred in conjunction with relevant parallels in Gifty's adult life. The switches also provided some relief and variety when one storyline would get particularly dark. At some points, the switches weren't perfectly chronological, and it would be briefly unclear what time period we were in, but this was a minor inconvenience at most.

Altogether, the stunning care and attention to detail in Transcendent Kingdom made it an unforgettable read, at times relatable, at times eye-opening, and always heart-wrenchingly real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Xenophobia, and Medical content

livdelrosso's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

lineofbooks's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this, though not for the reason I expected to enjoy it. I picked it because I heard it dealt with neuroscience, and while I don't have a science background myself, I am interested in the intersection between literature and science. I don't feel like Transcendent Kingdom taught me anything about the human brain, but there were so many other things to enjoy that I don't care. I love how this story, despite having multiple tragedies at its heart, is emotional but never a tearjerker. It's written in a relatively dry, objective voice, which fits perfectly with its narrator being a scientist. I love how it forced me to face my own misguided preconceptions about Ghana (I somehow assumed that the family move from there to the US would be motivated by a war or some other atrocity and it wasn't). And most of all, I love its ending - which I won't spoil for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Terminal illness

rory1387's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yaa Gyazi's follow-up to Homecoming, Transcendent Kingdom is a masterpiece in its own right. Jumping between past and present, Gifty tells her story. Though we know the ending (or rather, the middle) from the beginning, Gyazi's immersive, almost poetic prose still manages to shock the reader at every turn. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Abandonment

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol