Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

70 reviews

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.

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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

killerpancake's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Abandonment, and Animal death

The main character experiments on mice in a lab as a part of her research. The experiments are details but also integral to the plot. She does honor then in a way that was extremely touching and meaningful. I would encourage people to experience this really quiet but moving book about science and belief.

emmagreenwood'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing, Excrement, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Vomit

dhritigupta's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

i really didn’t think i’d enjoy a book about religion, but it was so much more than that. yaa gyasi writes things in a way that has me convinced she knows maybe everything about the world!! so for that reason, even though this book was really slow and really sad and kind of out of the realm of what i usually read about, i really liked it. i wouldn’t say it’s enjoyable, but it’s kind of like when u push on a bruise? and as always she was able to touch on so so many themes!! it’s just a story that i’m happy i got to read, even if it was really painful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

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

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

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

bgmartin0696's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Abandonment, Mental illness, Grief, and Drug use

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, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Suicide attempt and Racial slurs

sarzhaliu's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-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

I have no words this book was artwork and I'm currently sobbing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Abandonment, and Racism

annreadsabook's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Racism

lucyduller's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I found this book to be so different than what I was expecting. It is so understated in a way that you only really see the whole picture by the end of the book. It tells stories we don't hear often, if not at all, and there is not necessarily a blatant lesson it is trying to teach you, which is really beautiful because not all books have to teach you lessons. Not every story ends with a beautiful arc and a happy ending, sometimes stories just need to be told because they are lived experiences you could never understand any other way. This book a look into the lives of a rather small circle of people, well one person, but Gyasi does so in such a thorough and intense way that it feels so intimate and personal, so detailed. And the time-changing and structure is really flawless. 

It truly is a beautifully tragic book. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Abandonment