Beautiful, thought-provoking, educational

My first genre-love is fantasy. I always liked the idea of being able to reflect upon society through this lens and explore and think about uncomfortable topics without the brashness of reality.

Transcendental Kingdom is not fantasy. It deals with triggering topics head on - mental illness within the black community, living as an immigrant (from Africa to the American South), familial loss, addiction, single parent hood and also the stress that comes with ideas about religion and science and questions why the two are perceived as being on opposite ends of a spectrum. It also explores the nature of complex mother-daughter relationships.

You might think that it's a lot for one book. You might also think it's bound to be gritty, or urban. It's not. It's not romanticised either. How? Well, the story is a personal, even intimate one, following Gifty as she studies neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine, exploring the nature of reward seeking behaviour and addiction. Her wandering mind takes us through her life by the most intricate route - the writer has the most wonderful way of weaving flashbacks into the narrative, making time changes fluid and natural. Gifty's circumstances and mind are unique but her experiences are universal, poignantly expressed and deeply relatable. The book is like those renaissance pictures that you look at and appreciate in one spot but as you stand back and take time to study the whole picture, you realise just how detailed and profound it really is.

Littered throughout the story are interesting studies and theories that will inspire you to do more reading on the topics, should the themes explored interest you. Gifty's handling of taboo is made accessible to all with her curious mind - aware of all social convention and restriction - but still full of wonder anyway. For Audible, Bahni Turpin did an amazing job of capturing the purity of Gifty's mind, the innocence of her questioning that remains even after the changes she experiences growing up are revealed layer by layer.

This is not action based or gritty and dark, but it did hit hard, sneaking up on my emotions and catching me off guard. This book made me shed a tear or two in the last quarter. Easily one of the best reads of 2020 for me.

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6 people found this helpful

Didn’t enjoy

It is a nicely written book, and I like Yaa Gyasi. I feel like 90% of the plot is in the blurb and the book is quite stationery - you learn the main facts very early on and the rest is just being inside Gifty’s head. Perhaps this book would be poignant for someone with faith, or struggling with faith. As someone who firmly does not believe in god or any religion, it becomes very tedious as god features in virtually every other sentence at the second half of the book. I really struggled to get through the book, which I rarely do.

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2 people found this helpful

I needed to hear this

Sigh.... I respect Yaa so much for writing this. I respect her for being open about tough topics and for unveiling the reality behind how the church reacts to these issues.

She delves into her brother and his drug addition, her mother’s depression and her own struggle with grief.

She shares how through all of it the church turned a blind eye. A blind eye to a struggling teen, a depressed mother and a girl trying to find her way.

This book hit home! It hit home because the truth is the church today (in my experience) has not learnt how to deal with people with mental health disorders. It shuns them or uses prayer as a blanket that should fix all. The reality is... sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes people need more help.

I will talk more about this as I digest the book because it has helped me understand and sympathize so much more with those who have left the Christian faith. Left because they got more judgement than love.

Okay that’s all.... we’re giving this a 4⭐️.

It was good... I just wasn’t over the moon. The rating may change... at the moment that’s just how I feel. Yaa Gyasi is definitely becoming one of my favorite authors!

We will review this more later.

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1 person found this helpful

fascinating and heart breaking

a family tale of loss and identity. really interesting. voice actor did a great job.

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Complex and deeply touching ❤️

Loved it. A complex mix of culture, science, mental health, addiction, emotions, religion, family, immigration, relationships, etc. the only thing I did not like was the American pronunciation of Ghanaian words. Made me cringe a little, but I ignored it because the story was captivating. 👌🏾This is not an easy listen, but it shouldn’t have to be. It is intelligently put together, and it resonated with me. Well done Yaa!

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Just fine

I was so excited to read this book as I was absolutely mesmerised by Homegoing. Unfortunately this story die not hold the same captivating story telling nor the deep characterisation.

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A moving story

the author created a masterpiece and with the help of the narrator, the story has been brought to life in a calm but moving manner

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It is a heartfelt story but an abrupt ending

This story felt real and sad at the same time.
Unfortunately, I do feel like the ending was somewhat rushed as many questions were left unanswered.

Mum was a pivotal character, yet her passing was literally mentioned in passing.
The queries with her daughter's seemingly troubled family past was starting to leak into her own life and ways of thinking, but that too , I felt, had ended abruptly . I think I felt this way because the beginning and middle of the book was in enough detail to hold my attention.

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Stunning

Truly stunning novel; relatable, poignant and heartbreaking. I found it hard to put it down.

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A truly special book

Family, love, science, religion, philosophy, sadness, belonging, isolation, and innumerable questions - that is how i would sum up this wonderful book. This book made me cry; that never happens.

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