A review by audreypalz
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

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? Yes

4.5

Man, this book was heavy. Reading this, I imagine, felt like being one of Gifty's friends in the book, and trying and trying again to get her to open up, go to therapy, understand that the things she's dealt with are shitty and weighty but that not talking about them makes them so much shittier. I mean, that's kind of a shallow reading of the book. This book was also, at times, lovely, and kept dancing right up to the edge of the most horrible things you can imagine without ever dipping into morose and melodramatic. I can safely say that I think about addiction very differently now. The characters felt so heartbreakingly real, so at times difficult to understand. I don't know. Yaa Gyasi is a genius. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings