Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Ein erhabenes Königreich by Yaa Gyasi

168 reviews

taylorjadey's review against another edition

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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide attempt

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I like this more than Yaa Gyasi's first book, Homegoing. I like the way that the plot and the characterization get uncovered a little bit at a time. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

rozemarijn's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

bentonnnn1's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

n_asyikin_'s review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

A deeply moving book that led its readers to confront a multitude of vulnerabilities & draw strength from them in a story driven by strong character analyses. Gifty was in search for answers, wanting to make sense of the loss of her brother (to addiction) & mother (to depression). 

Perhaps, I'm being biased; there were many parallels between Gifty & I - we're both in the same field (though focused on different approaches), we're both grappling with our purpose & how our past (relating to mental illness) influenced it, and we're both struggling with our faith & it's place in our life. Transcendent Kingdom explored all of these, & for that, it became special to me.

The book cemented my view that Gyaasi is a master storyteller. Gyaasi's proses were effortlessly beautiful; structured in concise paragraphs, flowed between differing timeline, held by the topic being contemplated. I adored how some analogies stayed & repeated (though not overly done), embedded within the tapestry of the story. The characters were dynamic; even in their death, or brief appearances, they were significant in a way that highlighted their impact, no matter how brief, in Gifty's life (i.e. the narrator). Do note that for those who preferred plot-driven story with clear resolution, you may found the story difficult to follow. But I still think that the contemplative & wise manner Gifty shared her thoughts & her experience were more than compelling; as a narrator, she was a unique voice.

This story felt like it was written for me specifically. I found a kindred spirit in Gifty. The book was relatively short, but I took my time to savour, to reflect on the stories relayed by her. I found myself needing breaks in between; purely because the story led me to my own discoveries. Gifty's "letters" to God really hit me hard. 

I know I will sound cringey, but the book was rather transcending to me - it led me to go beyond the barriers I placed around my feelings. The book moved me to tears. One of my best reads. And Gyaasi is also becoming one of my favourites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism and Racism

Minor: Sexual content

gracecooper's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Wonderful. Had to stay up all night to finish

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicide attempt

aarsan24's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

noshelfcontrolll's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

While it took me a bit to get into, I am in love with this book. The way that Yaa Gyasi speaks about grief and addiction is heartbreaking, but her addition of Gifty’s inner struggle with science and religion, and how she reconciled with the events happening in her life in contrast to what she is told in church is absolutely beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Grief

samgiraffes's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

Beautiful and tragic story, really well researched and great pace. I didn't love it the same way I did Homegoing, but they're such different books that it's not really appropriate to compare.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Colonisation

voraciouslycurious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Be preparing to invest your time if you begin this book; slow going as main character struggle with painful past and depressed mother during frequent flashbacks to childhood.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide attempt