A review by thiccadonna
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

This was such a deep reflection on faith and belonging seen through the lense of a family of west african immigrants shattered by a certain event
(the older brother's overdose)
. Gyasi explores those feelings of alienation, from the community back "home", from the new community steeped in racism, from a God that's both all encompassing and also absent in a church that ostracizes and withholds grace from people deemed "unworthy" or "unfit", from the self after the shattering of grief, and she does so with brio. Weaving between past and present, Gyasi ponders on faith, on family, on trauma and addiction and the handling of mental health, all through the perspective of a black family, while offering this poignant and nuanced character portrait of the main character. Not an easy read but a truly engaging one.
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