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emmajane66's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
donnawr1's review against another edition
5.0
This novel covers so many deeply interesting topics, yet it does not feel too heavy or overburdened by any one of them. As a neuroscientist who has worked with mice, I appreciated the way her main character, Gifty, gives us a taste of the joys of doing this work. The studies described are truly cutting edge. A shout out to Christina Kim, the real woman who did this impressive work and continues to have a brilliant career fusing neuroanatomy, behavior and genetics.
I love the discussion about science and religion and how Gifty, who grew up in an Evangelical Christian Church, explores her faith as a child, a mystical experience, and then the questioning of faith as she watches her beloved brother, Nana, fight with addiction and then succumb to it. As Gifty heads off to college and hears other students ridicule those who believe, she realizes there was something in the Christianity she grew up in and that her mother still clung to. She's not sure what to do with it, but that upbringing is truly part of who she is and I appreciate that Gyasi does not give that short shrift.
The mother-daughter relationship in this story is complex, with Gifty's single mother showing obvious preference for the ill-fated son and a lack of obvious affection for her daughter who strives always to be perfect and good. As Gifty grows, she realizes how connected she is with her mother and is at a loss for how to help her in her depression. The two are joined in their grief over the loss of Nana, yet they express that grief in different ways.
Another important aspect of the book is about immigration and race. Those who seek a better life for their children in this country often have a difficult time and the story of the mother's sheer will-power, and then brokenness, especially in the face of the racism of their community is moving. At times the mother seems oblivious to the discrimination around her, and I wonder if that perspective comes from having grown up in Ghana without it, and the power of her wishful dreams once in the US.
Finally, Gyasi deals with the issue of the opioid epidemic, and although some reviewers found the treatment insubstantial, what I loved was the focus on the effect of Nana's addiction and death on Gifty and her mother over many years. The tragedy was not that one day, but lifetimes.
It doesn't seem like all of these topics could be handled well in one book, but it was and don't let the science or religion scare you away. This beautifully written novel moves smoothly through all of these themes and comes out leaving you filled with the complexity of human life.
I love the discussion about science and religion and how Gifty, who grew up in an Evangelical Christian Church, explores her faith as a child, a mystical experience, and then the questioning of faith as she watches her beloved brother, Nana, fight with addiction and then succumb to it. As Gifty heads off to college and hears other students ridicule those who believe, she realizes there was something in the Christianity she grew up in and that her mother still clung to. She's not sure what to do with it, but that upbringing is truly part of who she is and I appreciate that Gyasi does not give that short shrift.
The mother-daughter relationship in this story is complex, with Gifty's single mother showing obvious preference for the ill-fated son and a lack of obvious affection for her daughter who strives always to be perfect and good. As Gifty grows, she realizes how connected she is with her mother and is at a loss for how to help her in her depression. The two are joined in their grief over the loss of Nana, yet they express that grief in different ways.
Another important aspect of the book is about immigration and race. Those who seek a better life for their children in this country often have a difficult time and the story of the mother's sheer will-power, and then brokenness, especially in the face of the racism of their community is moving. At times the mother seems oblivious to the discrimination around her, and I wonder if that perspective comes from having grown up in Ghana without it, and the power of her wishful dreams once in the US.
Finally, Gyasi deals with the issue of the opioid epidemic, and although some reviewers found the treatment insubstantial, what I loved was the focus on the effect of Nana's addiction and death on Gifty and her mother over many years. The tragedy was not that one day, but lifetimes.
It doesn't seem like all of these topics could be handled well in one book, but it was and don't let the science or religion scare you away. This beautifully written novel moves smoothly through all of these themes and comes out leaving you filled with the complexity of human life.
hgurnik's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
5.0
pbiel002's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hannahgassmann's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
bucckets's review against another edition
5.0
This book describes so much of how I felt/feel growing up with faith and religion in my childhood in my home. I have never had it so perfectly written out and outlined just how I feel. Her relationship with her mother and her understanding of community in childhood and how much it hurts and isolates blew my mind. I’ve never written this much in a book before. The first half was good but not great, but the second half touched a part of me I don’t talk about ever.
cheerbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
In one word: Grieving
Cannonball Read Bingo: Uncannon
I picked this for uncannon because Gyasi is giving new life to a story that we've seen many times over from the Eurocentric white perspective. There have been plenty of books about drug addiction (even specifically about Oxycontin and the havoc it is wreaking in America), mental illness, the crossroads of science and religion in academia, and an overachieving character trying to fix her heart by using her head. She is taking very familiar tropes and given them new life through her lens.
In her hands, Grifty isn't just another Type-A character: she is an immigrant trying to unify her childhood in Ghana with her life in Alabama and make sense of her brother's tragically short life. She is fueled by grief and a relentless and likely fruitless effort to shake her mother from depression. And yet, with all those heavy topics this book is very light. It's a book of hope in hopeless situations. I found myself on the journey with Grifty, both wanting her to be more and do more for herself, but simultaneously understanding why she was incapable of letting others in and of moving on. I'm not a religious person but found the references to the Bible and Grifty's reckonings with her faith as the realistic wrestling one does with when what they are raised to believe comes in conflict with their own experiences.
Gyasi is wildly gifted and between this novel and Homegoing has shown impressive depth and range. I am officially all in. Next book that comes up, just get my credit card number and send it my way.
Cannonball Read Bingo: Uncannon
I picked this for uncannon because Gyasi is giving new life to a story that we've seen many times over from the Eurocentric white perspective. There have been plenty of books about drug addiction (even specifically about Oxycontin and the havoc it is wreaking in America), mental illness, the crossroads of science and religion in academia, and an overachieving character trying to fix her heart by using her head. She is taking very familiar tropes and given them new life through her lens.
In her hands, Grifty isn't just another Type-A character: she is an immigrant trying to unify her childhood in Ghana with her life in Alabama and make sense of her brother's tragically short life. She is fueled by grief and a relentless and likely fruitless effort to shake her mother from depression. And yet, with all those heavy topics this book is very light. It's a book of hope in hopeless situations. I found myself on the journey with Grifty, both wanting her to be more and do more for herself, but simultaneously understanding why she was incapable of letting others in and of moving on. I'm not a religious person but found the references to the Bible and Grifty's reckonings with her faith as the realistic wrestling one does with when what they are raised to believe comes in conflict with their own experiences.
Gyasi is wildly gifted and between this novel and Homegoing has shown impressive depth and range. I am officially all in. Next book that comes up, just get my credit card number and send it my way.
jojireadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
i really related to the protagonist & the themes of the book, especially around shame, faith, & trying to hold it all together. i think the nonlinear structure of the book works well and operates much like memory & grief, pulling you back into certain moments all the time. it was devastating for me, in a quiet and subtle way.
i really related to the protagonist & the themes of the book, especially around shame, faith, & trying to hold it all together. i think the nonlinear structure of the book works well and operates much like memory & grief, pulling you back into certain moments all the time. it was devastating for me, in a quiet and subtle way.
lottie1803's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0