Transcendent Kingdom

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021

By: Yaa Gyasi

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Brought to you by Penguin.

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.

'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

© Yaa Gyasi 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

A brilliant novel, with not a word out of place (Caleb Azumah Nelson)

A piercing story of faith, science and the opioid crisis . . . Transcendent Kingdom really sings. There's bravery as well as beauty here

Transcendent Kingdom is a novel for all times

Absolutely transcendent. A gorgeously woven narrative . . . not a word or idea out of place. I am quite angry this is so good

Transcendent Kingdom is a quietly magnificent novel - vivid, touching and beautifully written, and also unafraid to be, and to remain, really very sad.

Her equally outstanding second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, smaller in scale, is another graceful exploration of trauma reverberating through a family...introspective and intimate

This novel is an unflinching account of loss, but it is also a moving tribute to the ability of the human spirit to endure such tragedies

Gyasi's novel is a thoughtful analysis of a pressing social problem

Among other things [Transcendent Kingdom] is a sharp reckoning with the tensions between race, science and religion...its scope is pared back, its register intimate - not many writers can switch style like this

A powerful portrayal of love and faith that reminds us how our parents' actions can ripple through generations

I get her

Wonderful story. Accurate description of the pain of having an addicted sibling. Also breaking down how it feels to take care of someone with depression.

Written well and the reader was also great. I wish her experiment was real and there was a way to stop
Addiction.

Brilliant

An Absolutely fantastic heartfelt story. Very well written and well narrated! Thought provoking. Thank you

Things to note, maybe?

Love Gyasi's style of writing, the back and forth from the past to the present keeps the story engaging. The message is pertinent to society's response to depression and addiction, particularly the way families experience it internally and externally as well as from within the health sciences. I didn't anticipate as much Christian influence as there was. Compared with Home Going, which didn't really have any mention of it. Still a wonderful eye opening and deeply meaningful read.

The narrator's voice takes time to get used to. It was quite piercing on the ears initially, especially with earphones. I wouldn't eagerly listen to books read by Turpin again.

such a beautiful story

This is an honest reflection of relationships and struggles. I couldn't stop listening to it.