A review by literarypaiges
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

This is a book I wish I could read again for the first time with shiny eyes. There is so much to take from this story and from its lead character, Gifty. I’ve seen so many incredible reviews of this book from so many unique perspectives, and while it feels almost silly to add mine, I feel compelled to to try to explain what made this book feel so special. 

Yaa Gyasi has written a true classic here. She trusts her readers to think, to wrestle with difficult subjects without spoon feeding us the answers. She writes beautifully, poetically, and still manages to tell an incredible story with three dimensional characters dealing with some of the largest questions of our human experience in less than 300 pages. One of my goals for 2021 was to read more literary fiction and I’m so glad that goal brought me to this book. It should be on every awards list. I want to see this book covered in annoying, non-removable stickers that aren’t for celebrity book clubs. 

Without telling stories that aren’t mine to tell, I found the treatment of Gifty’s experience loving someone struggling with addiction so full of grace, so true to life, and so comforting. I’ve seen so many readers have a lot of deeply personal experiences with this book, and this particular theme really resonated with me. There’s so much I loved about this book, the questions it asked, the challenges it gave me. 

I got this one from the library and I know I will most definitely be purchasing a copy for my shelves. I rarely feel the urge to take a highlighter to my books, but I deeply regretted not owning this because in this case, I desperately wanted to. 
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