Reviews

Protezione by Yaa Gyasi

cierradouglas99's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

lott_oh's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

laplatts's review against another edition

5.0

Gift is a young woman marked by the tragedy of losing a brother and dealing with the ripple effects that it has on her family. Now studying neuroscience and addiction, her past catches up with her as her mother relapses into the depression that claimed her all those years ago. Grappling with the realities of science and her the faith she grew up with, Gifty is determined to discover a scientific basis for suffering.

Gyasi writes a beautiful tale of family in Transcendent Kingdom . The topics of emigration, science, love, faith, addiction and what it means to be a family are masterfully and poetically woven together. Gifty has a powerful voice that I believe will resonate with anyone that has struggled to find their way in the world, especially those that grapple with questions of faith.

I will definitely be checking out Homegoing by Gyasi, but I think readers of Elizabeth Strout and Michael Chabon will also enjoy this one.

annakeinonen's review against another edition

3.0

Tämä kirja on uskonnosta, tieteestä, vaikeista perhesuhteista ja riippuvainen lähimmäisenä elämisestä.

Gyasi kirjoittaa kauniisti ja kirjassa on monia hienoja oivalluksia. Erityisen ansiokkaasti on kuvailtu huumeriippuvaisen lähimmäisen elämää.

Itseäni ehkä kirjassa häiritsi se, että siihen oli samaan aikaan haluttu laittaa todella monta päällekkäistä teemaa. Vähemmän olisi voinut toimia paremmin. Tämän kirjan kohdalla olisin toivonut myös avointa loppua eli kirja olisi toiminut paremmin ilman viimeistä lukua.

marrenmarie's review against another edition

emotional 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

sgvaz51's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

amelias's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

loraineelizabeth's review against another edition

5.0

Just as the title suggests, this book is transcendent. I didn't think I could love this as much as I loved "Homegoing" but I was incorrect. The portrayal of Gifty's immigrant childhood as part of the only black family in a Southern church so much like the one I grew up in was intimate and gripping. It brought back so many memories of my own experiences and inner life growing up in an evangelical church and though I am no scientist like Gifty, I connected deeply with her struggle to unify the push and pull of mind and soul, childhood faith and adult questioning. Gifty's relationships with her older brother and her mother, respectively, are heartbreaking and utterly compelling. This is a book about incredible personal loss, addiction, racial disparities, mental illness, and ultimately, hope. I can't recommend Transcendent Kingdom highly enough. Beautiful and searing and I will read every book Yaa Gyasi ever writes.

sydinreallife's review against another edition

5.0

I found this to be an extremely beautiful and poignant novel that dealt with many heavy issues in a creative and compelling way. The primary source of tension features Gifty grappling with the dichotomy of science and religion as she struggles to understand why bad things (addiction, depression, abandonment) happen to good people (her brother, her mother and her whole family). Even that feels like oversimplification..

I could wax poetic about this book for hours probably, but the most relatable through-line of the story for me was that of trying to marry the idea of faith and belief with the convictions of rational discourse and scientific thinking. Very moving, quite sad at times, but ultimately hopeful. This is a worthwhile investment.

kaeteas's review against another edition

5.0

I'm having such a hard time trying to format a review, but in short, I loved this so much. The exploration of grief and one's personal relationship with religion is beautifully written.