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A review by thebobsphere
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
5.0
When I read Yaa Gyasi’s debut, Homegoing, I felt that this was an author who would write a book that will stun a lot of people. I thought it would be by the third novel but I was proved wrong: Transcendent Kingdom is the novel that will have critics salivating , readers going crazy and a ton of prize nominations, currently it’s been shortlisted for The Women’s Prize for Fiction but I’m expecting more.
The question is why do I think this book is so great? For starters Yaa Gyasi adds a lot of layers to the narrative. The main protagonist Gifty is studying the effects of addiction using mice as her test subjects, the reason being that her brother, Nana died of an overdose. The narrative also jumps back in time to Gifty’s childhood when her family were just getting used to life in The States after moving there from Ghana.
Gifty also narrates her constant battle with spirituality, the problems with her depressive mother and her attempts to be in a loving relationship. To add to this there are chapters dedicated to the roots of Nana’s addiction and her parents’ relationship.
If you want more there’s also her parents attempts to adopt U.S. culture while not losing their own and Gifty trying her best to accept that her roots are in Africa, despite growing up in her parents’ adopted country.
As I said, it’s a lot to take in: parenthood, science vs faith, addiction, culture clashes, mental health, relationships, sexuality and motherhood. Homegoing had a multi-layered plot but in Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi takes those layers into the stratosphere. Saying that, the book does not feel overcomplicated, daunting or overstuffed. The prose is simple (not simplistic) and lucid.
Transcendent Kingdom is a perfect novel. There’s a lot to pick apart, tons of metaphors and an addictive plot. Has Yaa Gyasi written her first masterpiece? As hyperbolic as it seems, there’s no denying that this is a grand novel in every sense. I don’t like saying that a book is a must read but I do think it’s an important and timely novel.
The question is why do I think this book is so great? For starters Yaa Gyasi adds a lot of layers to the narrative. The main protagonist Gifty is studying the effects of addiction using mice as her test subjects, the reason being that her brother, Nana died of an overdose. The narrative also jumps back in time to Gifty’s childhood when her family were just getting used to life in The States after moving there from Ghana.
Gifty also narrates her constant battle with spirituality, the problems with her depressive mother and her attempts to be in a loving relationship. To add to this there are chapters dedicated to the roots of Nana’s addiction and her parents’ relationship.
If you want more there’s also her parents attempts to adopt U.S. culture while not losing their own and Gifty trying her best to accept that her roots are in Africa, despite growing up in her parents’ adopted country.
As I said, it’s a lot to take in: parenthood, science vs faith, addiction, culture clashes, mental health, relationships, sexuality and motherhood. Homegoing had a multi-layered plot but in Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi takes those layers into the stratosphere. Saying that, the book does not feel overcomplicated, daunting or overstuffed. The prose is simple (not simplistic) and lucid.
Transcendent Kingdom is a perfect novel. There’s a lot to pick apart, tons of metaphors and an addictive plot. Has Yaa Gyasi written her first masterpiece? As hyperbolic as it seems, there’s no denying that this is a grand novel in every sense. I don’t like saying that a book is a must read but I do think it’s an important and timely novel.