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A review by alishareadsandrambles
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
challenging
emotional
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
I had heard good things about this book, but I didn't realize exactly how good it was going to be. The first thing about this book that the writing is phenomenal. The writing is so easy to get into and understand while not feeling overly simple or plain. This book felt so real that sometimes I had to remind myself that I was not reading a memoir.
The story itself was also a huge hit for me. This story deals with some very heavy things, namely depression and addiction, the portrayal and discussion of both of these things felt so authentic. This makes the characters in the book so relatable. Not only was I able to feel deeply connected to Gifty as the narrator but also to her mother, and brother, and even some of the more secondary side characters that get very little page time. All of them felt fleshed out and real and I could relate to all of them to some degree or another. This book hits home in a very real way who have dealt with depression or addiction in any way in our personal lives.
I also really appreciated the intersectionality that this book shows of an immigrant family dealing with depression and addiction. I do not have personal experience with being an immigrant, that being said from an outside perspective I thought this aspect was handled wonderfully as well. As I mentioned earlier I kept thinking that this book was a memoir because it felt so real. I feel like this not only comes from the writing style but also the perfect balance of the thematic elements in the book.
As of just finishing this book I cannot think of anything about this book that I did not like or that I felt was lacking. This book was executed to perfection and its one that everyone should read.
The story itself was also a huge hit for me. This story deals with some very heavy things, namely depression and addiction, the portrayal and discussion of both of these things felt so authentic. This makes the characters in the book so relatable. Not only was I able to feel deeply connected to Gifty as the narrator but also to her mother, and brother, and even some of the more secondary side characters that get very little page time. All of them felt fleshed out and real and I could relate to all of them to some degree or another. This book hits home in a very real way who have dealt with depression or addiction in any way in our personal lives.
I also really appreciated the intersectionality that this book shows of an immigrant family dealing with depression and addiction. I do not have personal experience with being an immigrant, that being said from an outside perspective I thought this aspect was handled wonderfully as well. As I mentioned earlier I kept thinking that this book was a memoir because it felt so real. I feel like this not only comes from the writing style but also the perfect balance of the thematic elements in the book.
As of just finishing this book I cannot think of anything about this book that I did not like or that I felt was lacking. This book was executed to perfection and its one that everyone should read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Mental illness
Moderate: Racism