Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

169 reviews

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

---

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

chaos_fairy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

The story explores the apparently incongruous viewpoints of science and religion, both central to the development of main character, Gifty. Born to Ghanaian immigrants in Alabama, Gifty is raised in an Evangelical tradition by her mother, and as an adult, works in researching neuroscience out of Stanford University. From a family of four, to a family of two. Where the missing family members have gone is revealed in time, but from the outset it is clear that Gifty has had her share of childhood trauma. 

Gifty uses religion and science in very similar ways, though at different stages of her life. Both, for her, are refuges from a world in which she feels powerless; both, she turns to for answers to some of the most difficult questions. 

It takes time for Transcendent Kingdom to move from an interesting array of snippets from Gifty’s past and present to the engaging and thought-provoking heart, but once you get there, there’s so much to unpack. Much like Gifty herself. 

The story includes starkly honest representations of substance abuse, addiction, depression, abandonment and grief, and how the human - mind, soul, brain - strives to process and overcome these hardships. At times overtly religious or loaded with scientific jargon, it is never alienating. It is simply the world as Gifty strives to understand it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Child death, Addiction, Racism, Abandonment, Death, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Mental illness

ebba94's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism

agnesg's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail

mair_mcc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Alabama. The writing style of this book was nothing short of moving. The multiple topics, all very difficult, were woven together in a way that made them interesting, gripping, heartbreaking & relatable all at the same time. I cannot wait to get my hands on more of this author's work.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Animal death

miamcmillan's review against another edition

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

4.0

i’m really glad i read this. it made me think about some topics i hadn’t considered properly before and i think it’s a really stupendous take on the intersection of science and religion. gyasi writes with such a human care and a quiet power which underlined every single word. from the exploration of gifty’s relationship with her mother to her portrait of nana and all his beauty, the whole novel was incredibly moving. i particularly loved how even though at points i disliked every single character, gyasi’s writing brings back round the idea of transcendence and i ended up loving each one of them even as i cried for their losses and wanted to distance myself from their mistakes. it was absolutely immersive. i genuinely think the last few paragraphs are one of the most beautiful i have read in a while: 
“i’m no longer interested in other worlds or spiritual planes. i’ve seen enough in a mouse to understand transcendence, holiness, redemption. in people, i’ve seen even more. 
from the back pew, christ’s face is the portrait of ecstasy. i stare at it, and it changes, goes from angry to pained to joyful. some days, i sit there for hours, some days mere minutes, but i never bow my head. i never pray, never wait to hear god’s voice, i just look. i sit in blessed silence, and i remember. i try to make order, make sense, make meaning of the jumble of it all. always, i light two candles before i go.”

---

Content Warnings

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

thepassivebookworm's review against another edition

hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism

abioneil'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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Death and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Vomit

menomica's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense

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

“There is no living thing on God’s Earth that doesn’t come to know pain sometime.”

This book broke my heart.

Yaa Gyasi is so amazing at describing trauma without coming off as gratuitous. She manages to capture the multiple aspects of pain and hurt, and even how at certain level you begin to normalize it.

The way Gifty talks about the trauma that she experienced as a preteen—watching her brother strung out on her lap, her mothers attempted suicide—you really get the sense that though she understands the harrowing nature of her experiences, she hasn’t really given herself room to reflect on how she experienced these things at such a young age and how that affected her.

I think this book is very beautiful, especially if you go in not viewing it with the expectation of a narrative structure. A lot of the storlines don’t tie up in neat bows, they simply end, come to their own natural conclusions. And to me, that feels very much like how things happen in real life.

Anyway, I think this book is so amazing. Definitely recommend.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Dementia