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sarahholliday's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
- Gifty wrestling with her religious upbringing & faith. So much of her journey resonated with me, as someone who was raised in a southern, evangelical church and has since left that particular faith tradition. Gyasi portrayed that journey with such empathy.
- The way past & present seemed to blend and inform one another. It felt like an accurate representation of what it's like to live with grief and trauma.
Things I didn't love about this book:
- I'll admit that I prefer plot-driven works, so take this with a grain of salt! But even for a character-driven novel it seemed like this story lacked momentum. I was never really sure what (if anything) we were moving towards.
- The shift from the penultimate chapter to the final one seemed a bit abrupt. We go from Gifty being a fairly closed-off person navigating her mother's mental illness to her life several years later. I won't spoil anything, but it definitely threw me off kilter a bit.
Overall, I think Transcendent Kingdom is beautifully written and is brimming with wise observations & heart--well worth your time if it appeals!
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
taylor13's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Forced institutionalization
acarter's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
wai's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Suicide, Racial slurs, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Physical abuse and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death and Forced institutionalization
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism