Transcendent Kingdom
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-02 11:57:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Yaa Gyasi
- ISBN：024143338X
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Summary
**From the bestselling author of Homegoing comes a searing novel of love and loss， addiction and redemption， straight from the heart of contemporary America**
As a child Gifty would ask her parents to tell the story of their journey from Ghana to Alabama， seeking escape in myths of heroism and romance。 When her father and brother succumb to the hard reality of immigrant life in the American South， their family of four becomes two - and the life Gifty dreamed of slips away。
Years later， desperate to understand the opioid addiction that destroyed her brother's life， she turns to science for answers。 But when her mother comes to stay， Gifty soon learns that the roots of their tangled traumas reach farther than she ever thought。 Tracing her family's story through continents and generations will take her deep into the dark heart of modern America。
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'I would say that Transcendent Kingdom is a novel for our time （and it is） but it is so much more than that。 It is a novel for all times。 The splendor and heart and insight and brilliance contained in the pages holds up a light the rest of us can follow' Ann Patchett
'Absolutely transcendent。 A gorgeously woven narrative 。 。 。 not a word or idea out of place。 THE RANGE。 I am quite angry this is so good' Roxane Gay
'A stirringly gifted writer' New York Times
As a child Gifty would ask her parents to tell the story of their journey from Ghana to Alabama， seeking escape in myths of heroism and romance。 When her father and brother succumb to the hard reality of immigrant life in the American South， their family of four becomes two - and the life Gifty dreamed of slips away。
Years later， desperate to understand the opioid addiction that destroyed her brother's life， she turns to science for answers。 But when her mother comes to stay， Gifty soon learns that the roots of their tangled traumas reach farther than she ever thought。 Tracing her family's story through continents and generations will take her deep into the dark heart of modern America。
______________________________________________________
'I would say that Transcendent Kingdom is a novel for our time （and it is） but it is so much more than that。 It is a novel for all times。 The splendor and heart and insight and brilliance contained in the pages holds up a light the rest of us can follow' Ann Patchett
'Absolutely transcendent。 A gorgeously woven narrative 。 。 。 not a word or idea out of place。 THE RANGE。 I am quite angry this is so good' Roxane Gay
'A stirringly gifted writer' New York Times
Reviews
Elizabeth Boquet
，
Loved this book。 Not quite as much grappling with questions of faith as the reviews suggest （which was fine with me）。 The themes of mother-daughter relationships， sister-brother relationships， and the personal histories interwoven with our intellectual and professional pursuits—these came forward for me in compelling ways。
Isidora
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Why when it is about religion and science it is always about science from the point of view of religion and never vice versa？ The book ponders some very worthy topics but the spirituality in it lost me。
Kate
，
I just didn't have a good time I just didn't have a good time 。。。more
Inda
，
First of all， I must admit it's been quite some time since I've been able to finish reading a full-length novel， but this is a work that helped me get back into a more consistent reading habit since the beginning of the pandemic。 Anyway， I had the chance to listen to a talk at our local book festival （virtually） and the festival made some copies available to participants。I'll just say that Gyasi's work is the type of literature I adore， focused primarily on the main character's mental， emotional First of all， I must admit it's been quite some time since I've been able to finish reading a full-length novel， but this is a work that helped me get back into a more consistent reading habit since the beginning of the pandemic。 Anyway， I had the chance to listen to a talk at our local book festival （virtually） and the festival made some copies available to participants。I'll just say that Gyasi's work is the type of literature I adore， focused primarily on the main character's mental， emotional， and intellectual journey rather than a dramatic plot。 Her main character Gifty is a PhD student in neuroscience studying reward-seeking behaviors， a curiosity grown from her experience of seeing her brother Nana， a gifted athlete， die of a heroin overdose after an injury left him addicted to OxyContin。 As a result， her mother， a Ghanaian immigrant， faced her own battle with depression and spiritual warfare。Told nonlinearly， Gifty's story comes in bits and pieces between her current work in the lab and her attempts to navigate socially with classmates and colleagues as she takes care of her mother who has slipped again into a depressive episode。 Overall， this is the type of work I'd love to see adapted into an Oscar-bait film with its themes of mental illness/mental health， sexuality， addiction， and spirituality that all come together in beautiful ways。 I'll definitely see about getting into Gyasi's debut work Homegoing。 。。。more
Sophie Ligaya dela Cruz
，
a full， more coherent， and more grammatically correct review of Transcendent Kingdom will soon be up on my blog， Sophie and Their Stories！“We read the Bible how we want to read it。 It doesn’t change， but we do。”I read this book for a school assignment — to analyze， dissect， and interpret as required by my English teacher （who is amazing， by the way） and her Google Doc prompt。 I had no idea how profoundly it would affect me。 this isn’t the type of book that makes you cry — though certainly， t a full， more coherent， and more grammatically correct review of Transcendent Kingdom will soon be up on my blog， Sophie and Their Stories！“We read the Bible how we want to read it。 It doesn’t change， but we do。”I read this book for a school assignment — to analyze， dissect， and interpret as required by my English teacher （who is amazing， by the way） and her Google Doc prompt。 I had no idea how profoundly it would affect me。 this isn’t the type of book that makes you cry — though certainly， throughout its course， Transcendent Kingdom caused tears to brim in my eyes。 it’s the type of book that you read when a storm rages outside， and you’re staring at the wall （with no thoughts， like a blood-sniffing shark）。 it’s the type of book that makes my hands tremble with quiet realization。 this book is a blessing and a prayer。 my fondness and closeness for this book probably comes from my own deeply Christian background， which is a big part of who I am; I have never read a novel that explores faith as deeply and compassionately as this one did。 gifty， the brilliant protagonist of this story， grapples with the same religious tumult that people in my community grapple with — but she does not condemn her experiences。 not even once; in fact， she celebrates her faith and identities in her own conflicted， contemplative way。 I never see this sort of religious complexity in fiction。 When Gifty says in her monologues， “But the instruction is not simply to love your neighbor。 It is to love yourself， and herein lies the challenge，” I gasped。 it was like looking into a mirror; into the distorted image of yourself within the basins of holy water before you enter the sanctuary。this is one of the rare books that I can truly call realistic: a person's time on earth does not consist only of pain， and it does not consist only of joy。 life is a smoothie， you know？ it is full of contradictions （just as religion is）。 Transcendent Kingdom mastered the perfect blend。 “yes，” I said to myself as I read each page。 “this is life。 this is actually， truly life。” so many human truths were packed into this relatively short novel: queerness， culture， belonging， racial identity， love， addiction， family， growth — and plenty of references to STEM and neuroscience developments， which was a big bonus for me。 I rarely give books my complete recommendation; my praises usually come with caveats。 “read this， but only if you’re a YA fan！” I’d mention。 “read this， but be aware of the rather confusing prose！” transcendent kingdom， however？ no matter who you are， or what you normally read， transcendent kingdom deserves your full attention。 it’s concise — you can get through it in an afternoon， if you have the time。 you may see or find yourself in these pages。 read this at once， and please cry with me！wish me luck on my English essay lol twitter ☆ instagram ☆ youtube ☆ tiktok ☆ blog 。。。more
Leilani Aylward
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This book made me feel a lot of things
Ingrid
，
beautiful， beautiful book; disappointingly abrupt ending。 I wanted more， to see her go from the penultimate to the ultimate chapter
Kathy
，
A bit too sad for me。 Mother was too cruel and sad; too much sadness in Gifty’s life。 The ending was too abrupt of a change for me - all the threads not there to get there。
Phoebe Martell-Crawford
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I was going to stop rating books because I feel like I give every book a 4 and I’m like “yeah good book！” But hot diggity dog the last time I loved a book this much was， you guessed it， Homegoing。 Yaa Gyasi has done it again。
Franc
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What is the connection between addiction and depression？ What is it that makes us not be stimulated at all or never satisfied？
Hannah Rose
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I already can’t wait for Yaa Gyasi’s next book。 She is amazing！
Heidi
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Took a long time to finish， but I enjoyed it。 Sad story。
Laura
，
FUCK THIS WAS SO GOOD
Lynn Shurden
，
An unusual novel by such a talented writer。 Wow！
Kimberly White
，
This is one of those books I need to talk about and think about。 I really resonated with Gifty's struggle with God and the church and the people in the church。 Her story is heartbreaking and doesn't provide answers。 So so good。 This is one of those books I need to talk about and think about。 I really resonated with Gifty's struggle with God and the church and the people in the church。 Her story is heartbreaking and doesn't provide answers。 So so good。 。。。more
Nic
，
Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom is her second book after the phenomenal Homegoing。 Where Homegoing follows an arc over multiple generations， Transcendent Kingdom focuses on Gifty， a post-doc student at Stamford， along with her parents and older brother。 The narrative is superb and Gifty is a well drawn and imagined character。 The timelines move around as we join Gifty’s parents incremental move from Ghana to Alabama。 Gifty and her brother are brought up by their hardworking mother who is a devo Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom is her second book after the phenomenal Homegoing。 Where Homegoing follows an arc over multiple generations， Transcendent Kingdom focuses on Gifty， a post-doc student at Stamford， along with her parents and older brother。 The narrative is superb and Gifty is a well drawn and imagined character。 The timelines move around as we join Gifty’s parents incremental move from Ghana to Alabama。 Gifty and her brother are brought up by their hardworking mother who is a devout Christian。 Of the many themes in the book the friction between questions of the religion at the core of Gifty’s family， positioned alongside her work as a hard scientist， is the most impactful。 In addition is Gifty’s research which focuses on addiction， a societal issue which impacts her brother。 I really enjoyed this book。 I listened to the audio version and the narration was excellent- notably the dialogue and characterisations。 A worthy inclusion on the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021。 。。。more
Jane
，
This book deserves a ten star rating at the very least。The subject matter is intense， personal， and many of us have experienced similar things in our own lives。 The author recounts her experiences of depression， addiction， religion， and relationships in such a way that I felt I was living the experiences with her， rather than just reading about them。 This is masterful。 I highly recommend it。
Jashvina Shah
，
This book is so different from homegoing。 It’s a blend of narrative filled with some more technical things about brains， depression， addiction。 And it’s just so much more than I can describe — more than I want to right now， as I’m sure anyone who has ever gotten that call that someone they love has died unexpectedly feels。 It is， again， a tough read。 But， it’s nessecary。 It does a great job of exploring grief， our reactions and how what we experience as children change us。
Jessica
，
This is a very talented writer， and I enjoyed both this and Homegoing。 However， with this book， which touches on a number of heady topics ranging from racism/immigration， broken families， mother-daughter relationships， religion， mental health， drug abuse， sexuality， and a healthy dose of neuroscience， fell short for me。 I was enjoying reading it， thinking there was still plenty of narrative left when all of a sudden it jumped to the end。 I felt like the author grew tired and was ready to be done This is a very talented writer， and I enjoyed both this and Homegoing。 However， with this book， which touches on a number of heady topics ranging from racism/immigration， broken families， mother-daughter relationships， religion， mental health， drug abuse， sexuality， and a healthy dose of neuroscience， fell short for me。 I was enjoying reading it， thinking there was still plenty of narrative left when all of a sudden it jumped to the end。 I felt like the author grew tired and was ready to be done so she just wrote made the leap a few put a final chapter in rather abruptly。 。。。more
Karen Lapuk
，
This is one of my favorites- again real and fallible characters with complicated lives。 Hit a few nerves- thinking of loved ones。 So many layers。 Read it！
Meg
，
holy hell this was just TOO excellent， deffo a transcendent reading experience
Lotte Elizabeth
，
Schitterend boek met een heftig verhaal。 Prachtige schrijfstijl！
Amanda Gunawan
，
The author explores themes of religion， addiction and depression in a way that is both relatable， but not predictable or cliché。 This book really got me to reflect on my own religious upbringing and what I do or do not believe。
Jaysen
，
a very moving， sad character study about a young woman who has never really recovered from a childhood tragedy。 much of the "plot" of this book happens in the past， with the character reflecting on her experiences as a first-gen Ghanian-American whose family struggles with life in the US in their own ways。 her childhood experiences make her a closed-off， jaded adult who tries to find answers in science when religion fails her。i really liked it！ Gyasi is a wonderful writer with a mastery of the e a very moving， sad character study about a young woman who has never really recovered from a childhood tragedy。 much of the "plot" of this book happens in the past， with the character reflecting on her experiences as a first-gen Ghanian-American whose family struggles with life in the US in their own ways。 her childhood experiences make her a closed-off， jaded adult who tries to find answers in science when religion fails her。i really liked it！ Gyasi is a wonderful writer with a mastery of the english language。 she's descriptive and reflective without being boring。 i do think this could've been shorter though。 3。75 stars 。。。more
Isabelle
，
3。5
Ann
，
Oh wow， I’m sitting stunned on the couch， amazed by this book。 It all flows so seamlessly and beautifully。
Tad Deshler
，
3。5 starsA powerful and beautifully written story， but I found it a little hard to relate to having little in common with the primary themes。
Sandra Armor
，
I’m sad to say I hated this book。 It all came down to religion。 Give me these characters， this story， addiction， depression， science， and I’m there。 There’s a tight 190 or so page great novel to be written from those elements。 I wanted more of Gifty and Nana， more of Nana’s story。 The religious elements in this book just killed it for me。 I ended many a night of reading 20， 30， 40 pages with “boring！” I’m shocked at how much I actively disliked this book。 I’m sure it is well written。 It’s why I I’m sad to say I hated this book。 It all came down to religion。 Give me these characters， this story， addiction， depression， science， and I’m there。 There’s a tight 190 or so page great novel to be written from those elements。 I wanted more of Gifty and Nana， more of Nana’s story。 The religious elements in this book just killed it for me。 I ended many a night of reading 20， 30， 40 pages with “boring！” I’m shocked at how much I actively disliked this book。 I’m sure it is well written。 It’s why I gave the book 3 stars。 I very much want to read Homegoing。 I don’t think I have a problem with her writing。 I have a problem with this particular subject matter。 。。。more
Steph
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TW for dr*g use， overd*se and animal cr**lty （this in the form of science experiments）I'm not sure where to begin。 This book reached and touched me in so many ways I didn't expect。Transcendent Kingdom tells the story of a first generation Ghanian American。 It is a story about ones relationship with God and living through hardships and how that changes oneself， but also so much more。 It spoke to me about questions for God and whether one seeks to answer them via religion or science and how can on TW for dr*g use， overd*se and animal cr**lty （this in the form of science experiments）I'm not sure where to begin。 This book reached and touched me in so many ways I didn't expect。Transcendent Kingdom tells the story of a first generation Ghanian American。 It is a story about ones relationship with God and living through hardships and how that changes oneself， but also so much more。 It spoke to me about questions for God and whether one seeks to answer them via religion or science and how can one honor both of those views。This wasn't an easy read， but it is one that will stick with me for a while to come。 。。。more
K
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Amazing and incredibly on-the-nose for this strange time in my life。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Transcendent Kingdom
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Transcendent Kingdom&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Transcendent Kingdom&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0