Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

9 reviews

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Racial slurs

taulkstoomuch's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

4.75

This book is so beautifully written, you could turn to any page in it and will find the most gut-wrenching and heart-striking quotes adorning the pages.

The discourse around race, class, science v religion, identity, motherhood, and so many more - every single one of them were gorgeously woven into the narrative. The switching from past and present felt natural and didn't affect the flow of my reading. Yaa Gyasi is such an amazing writer, truly wow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, and Classism

abrdoodle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexism, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Classism, Sexual content, Excrement, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Physical abuse

pagesofkenzie's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Violence, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was BRILLIANT. I had seen it on the bookstores’ bookshelves and always thought to pick it up, but never gave myself the chance to read it until now. Gifty is a gorgeous character, with so much nuance, and I loved being able to feel her energy throughout the book. Although I am not religious, I could appreciate how she saw God as an integral part of her life and even as she moved into her idyllic world, they were still there. 

Throughout the book, I felt the pain of Nana’s overdose and of her mum feeling/having (?) anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), so it made me tear up so much when she finally found her joy in Hans and found a partner who could know her and understand her 🥹

I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who’s not yet picked it up! There were so many incredible quotes as well. ❤️✨

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Racism, and Classism

ejs2000's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racial slurs, Classism, and Child death

Minor: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, and Racism

grboph's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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

5.0

This was one of the best books I have ever read, and certainly my favorite that I've read so far this year. I was initially intrigued by the neuroscience and religion aspects of it, but then the characters and story completely pulled me in and kept me invested until the very end. It was definitely a very sad story and doesn't have a happy ending per se, but it is still very hopeful (as the main plot revolves around Gifty's desire to fix the issues that afflicted her mother and her brother). As a sort-of nerd, I also loved all of the musings on the brain and a lot of them beautifully captured the reasons behind why I also want to study neuroscience. I am also very fascinated by religion and the impacts it can leave on people, so I loved reading about the way this affected Gifty as well as her family members' experiences with addiction and mental illness. I also liked that much of the story was just Gifty's stream of consciousness - that is not something I typically like, but Gyasi is such a wonderful writer that this aspect added to the depth of the story in this case. Overall, this was a very impactful story that I will remember reading for a very long time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in neuroscience or religion, or just anyone who is looking for a good emotional, character-driven book to read.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Animal death

The two main plot points driving this book are the main character's older brother becoming addicted to painkillers and then dying of a heroin overdose and the main character's mother becoming depressed and attempting suicide as a result.

samiaba15's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism

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

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

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