A review by pnwbibliophile
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yaa Gyasi is able to tap into the emotional depth of her characters such that I’ll happily read anything she puts out. This authentically captured Gifty’s academic background and experiments, her immigrant background, and the interplay between addiction, loss, and mental health. The plot, structure and central questions were adeptly planned such that the components developed this beautiful synergy and flow. Capturing the intricacies of immigrant families is a complex undertaking, yet the novel gives us four nuanced family members we can empathize with even when they do disagreeable things such as doing drugs, abandoning their family, or withdrawing into depression.

One aspect I didn’t connect  as much with was that Gifty, the protagonist, is grappling with her moral questions within religion. But that is a me problem. Despite this, I thought the religious discourse was balanced and nuanced such that it never felt preachy. This did a great job capturing the interplay between grief, addiction, and mental health in a thoughtful way. However, as someone who lost my brother, Gifty felt too detached from her own grief surrounding her brother’s death to feel authentic. Gifty was witnessing the addiction, death, and her mother’s grief rather than tapping into her own emotions surrounding her brother. My last critique is that much of the novel took place within Gifty’s head, causing the writing to drag at times, especially since the topics it examines are so heavy. 

Despite my critiques, this is still well worth reading and makes me excited to delve into the author’s next work.