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siebensommer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
2.5
my need to diy my mother‘s mental health
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Medical content
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
A beautiful and painful book that demands the reader's full attention. Gyasi doesn't lay things out A then B then C; instead, she gives us a puzzle of C then A then Q and trusts that we as readers are clever enough and paying enough attention to put the pieces together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death, Ableism, Drug use, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Medical content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
kelly_e's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.5
Title: Transcendent Kingdom
Author: Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: August 31, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Captivating • Heart-wrenching • Introspective
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.
But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family's loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Transcendent Kingdom came highly recommended to me by several book friends, yet I knew because of my deeply personal connection to the content that I would need to be in the right frame of mind when I finally picked it up. This awareness helped create a safe, deeply emotional reading experience for me that I am grateful for.
What an absolutely powerful book! Yaa Gyasi delivers a raw and compelling take on how science and faith merge and diverge. Written from the first person perspective with short chapters, it read more like a memoir, allowing a deep look into Gifty's internal battle in her search for understanding. Snippets from childhood and the past, really brought each of the characters to life, making them real and relatable. The writing is profoundly beautiful. Every word, every sentence has it's place. The science is easily digestible and the religions aspect aren't preachy. In all honesty, the author tackles mental illness and addiction with grace and respect, while also exploring themes of love and loss, of healing and belonging, and of family and identity. Underneath some of the bigger themes also lies an exploration of the immigrant experience, including racism.
There are so many emotional and thought-provoking passages sprinkled throughout the story, a few of which I have chosen to highlight below. However, it is how in the end the reader is left without answers that truly sticks with me. Isn't that the whole point? It's a testament to how we can search for answers, yet there are some things we can never know and therein lies the beauty of being alive.
Every now and then there is a book comes along and burrows itself deep into your soul and changes your perception, Transcendent Kingdom was one of those books for me. It is a book I will revisit in the future. One that contemplates what it means to live without answers. And one I hope is an invitation for readers to consider people living with mental illness and addiction with more understanding, empathy, and compassion. I will definitely be looking to get my hands on a copy of Gyasi's debut, Homecoming, and look forward to hearing about future books from this incredibly talented author.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who love profound writing
• anyone looking for a thought-provoking read
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The truth is we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears."
"Nothing teaches you the true nature of your friendships like a sudden death, worse still, a death that’s shrouded in shame."
"If I've thought of my mother as callous, and many times I have, then it is important to remember what a callus is: the hardened tissue that forms over a wound."
"What I can say for certain is that there is no case study in the world that could capture the whole animal of my brother, that could show how smart and kind and generous he was, how much he wanted to get better, how much he wanted to live. Forget for a moment what he looked like on paper, and instead see him as he was in all of his glory, in all of his beauty. It’s true that for years before he died, I would look at his face and think, 'What a pity, what a waste'. But the waste was my own, the waste was what I missed out on whenever I looked at him and saw just his addiction."
Author: Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: August 31, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Captivating • Heart-wrenching • Introspective
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.
But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family's loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Transcendent Kingdom came highly recommended to me by several book friends, yet I knew because of my deeply personal connection to the content that I would need to be in the right frame of mind when I finally picked it up. This awareness helped create a safe, deeply emotional reading experience for me that I am grateful for.
What an absolutely powerful book! Yaa Gyasi delivers a raw and compelling take on how science and faith merge and diverge. Written from the first person perspective with short chapters, it read more like a memoir, allowing a deep look into Gifty's internal battle in her search for understanding. Snippets from childhood and the past, really brought each of the characters to life, making them real and relatable. The writing is profoundly beautiful. Every word, every sentence has it's place. The science is easily digestible and the religions aspect aren't preachy. In all honesty, the author tackles mental illness and addiction with grace and respect, while also exploring themes of love and loss, of healing and belonging, and of family and identity. Underneath some of the bigger themes also lies an exploration of the immigrant experience, including racism.
There are so many emotional and thought-provoking passages sprinkled throughout the story, a few of which I have chosen to highlight below. However, it is how in the end the reader is left without answers that truly sticks with me. Isn't that the whole point? It's a testament to how we can search for answers, yet there are some things we can never know and therein lies the beauty of being alive.
Every now and then there is a book comes along and burrows itself deep into your soul and changes your perception, Transcendent Kingdom was one of those books for me. It is a book I will revisit in the future. One that contemplates what it means to live without answers. And one I hope is an invitation for readers to consider people living with mental illness and addiction with more understanding, empathy, and compassion. I will definitely be looking to get my hands on a copy of Gyasi's debut, Homecoming, and look forward to hearing about future books from this incredibly talented author.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who love profound writing
• anyone looking for a thought-provoking read
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The truth is we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears."
"Nothing teaches you the true nature of your friendships like a sudden death, worse still, a death that’s shrouded in shame."
"If I've thought of my mother as callous, and many times I have, then it is important to remember what a callus is: the hardened tissue that forms over a wound."
"What I can say for certain is that there is no case study in the world that could capture the whole animal of my brother, that could show how smart and kind and generous he was, how much he wanted to get better, how much he wanted to live. Forget for a moment what he looked like on paper, and instead see him as he was in all of his glory, in all of his beauty. It’s true that for years before he died, I would look at his face and think, 'What a pity, what a waste'. But the waste was my own, the waste was what I missed out on whenever I looked at him and saw just his addiction."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Child death, Drug use, and Death
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Racism, Death of parent, Animal death, and Abandonment
Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexism, Excrement, and Pregnancy
overdose, depression, sibling deathqueer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: substance use/discussions of addiction, overdose, suicide attempt, depression, racism, racial slurs, grief
Transcendent Kingdom is the second novel by Yaa Gyasi, and is literary contemporary fiction. I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary stories, but I love the way Gyasi writes. She lays out her ideas in clear ways, but never tries to shape the reader's view, instead she lets us come to our own conclusions. Though it is a sad story, it wasn't a tear jerker for me, mostly because I think Gifty isn't a crier.
We follow Gifty, the daughter of a Ghanian immigrant mother, who is living in Alabama. Gifty narrates the story of how her mother came to America, the hardships they encountered as Black folk in the south, and the tragedies that followed. We go between Gifty's childhood and her present, where she is a PH.d student at Stanford studying neuroscience. We see how Gifty's upbringing in the church has affected her, as well as her brother's overdose, and her mother's depression.
This book is an examination of identity, religion, addiction, and how science and religion are both diametrically opposed to one another, but has also shaped Gifty's approach to life. As someone who grew up with Christianity and later left it behind, it was fascinating seeing Gifty's transition from being a serious Christian to doubting religion, the church, and losing her faith. Though Gifty no longer truly believes, it has still shaped her outlook on life and her approach to science.
If you liked Homegoing, this is a must read!
Transcendent Kingdom is the second novel by Yaa Gyasi, and is literary contemporary fiction. I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary stories, but I love the way Gyasi writes. She lays out her ideas in clear ways, but never tries to shape the reader's view, instead she lets us come to our own conclusions. Though it is a sad story, it wasn't a tear jerker for me, mostly because I think Gifty isn't a crier.
We follow Gifty, the daughter of a Ghanian immigrant mother, who is living in Alabama. Gifty narrates the story of how her mother came to America, the hardships they encountered as Black folk in the south, and the tragedies that followed. We go between Gifty's childhood and her present, where she is a PH.d student at Stanford studying neuroscience. We see how Gifty's upbringing in the church has affected her, as well as her brother's overdose, and her mother's depression.
This book is an examination of identity, religion, addiction, and how science and religion are both diametrically opposed to one another, but has also shaped Gifty's approach to life. As someone who grew up with Christianity and later left it behind, it was fascinating seeing Gifty's transition from being a serious Christian to doubting religion, the church, and losing her faith. Though Gifty no longer truly believes, it has still shaped her outlook on life and her approach to science.
If you liked Homegoing, this is a must read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Pregnancy
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.
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.hilarylouise'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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Racism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
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
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Addiction
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Alcohol, and Racial slurs
shereadytoread's review against another edition
This book unfortunately was not a good experience for me. I DNFed a little over halfway through. While I think this book has a deep basis that I could have loved, it turned more into an internal pull of the MC between her religion and science. A lot of philosophy and a little plot. The background story of addiction and depression in her family as well as the cultural struggles of immigrant parents falls to the side as she continues to cycle through being a religious scientist. Great idea but the execution wasn’t for me. If those topics interest you, I definitely think it’s worth the try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction and Animal death
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
This book unfortunately was not a good experience for me. I DNFed a little over halfway through. While I think this book has a deep basis that I could have loved, it turned more into an internal pull of the MC between her religion and science. A lot of philosophy and a little plot. The background story of addiction and depression in her family as well as the cultural struggles of immigrant parents falls to the side as she continues to cycle through being a religious scientist. Great idea but the execution wasn’t for me. If those topics interest you, I definitely think it’s worth the try.ntvenessa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.75
I'm not sure I've ever read anything quite like this. It was gorgeous but gritty, and oh, my heart swelled when it did not outright burst. As an agnostic scientist myself who grew up surrounded by religion, this novel explores brilliantly that intersection that which is often seen as an unbridgeable divide. I am still unsure, but I am moved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Child death
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts