Transcendent Kingdom

I need a book like this to remember what is possible

Ta-Nehisi Coates on 'Homegoing'

Remarkable, a devastating account of America . . . explores horror without ever losing sight of humanity or hope

Sunday Times on 'Homegoing'

A stirringly gifted writer. It's impossible not to admire the ambition and scope of Homegoing

New York Times

If you want to know why the world is this way, try this book for starters

Naomi Alderman, author of The Power

Transcendent Kingdom is a novel for all times

Ann Patchett

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

Roxane Gay

A book of blazing brilliance . . . A double helix of wisdom and rage twists through the quiet lines of this novel. Yaa Gyasi is one of the most enlightening novelists writing today

Washington Post

Meticulous, psychologically complex ... At once a vivid evocation of the immigrant experience and a sharp delineation of an individual's inner struggle, the novel brilliantly succeeds on both counts

Publishers Weekly, starred review

With deft agility and undeniable artistry, Gyasi's latest is an eloquent examination of resilient survival

Booklist

A powerful, wholly unsentimental novel about family love, loss, belonging and belief that is more focused but just as daring as its predecessor, and to my mind even more successful

Wall Street Journal

Gyasi's second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, is a very different book, and, I think, a better one - contemporary, personal, acutely focused on a single family, and intensely felt

New Yorker

The range Gyasi displays in just two books is staggering

USA Today

Perhaps neither science nor religion alone could capture transcendence, but Gyasi has proved, once again, that a novel can

Guardian

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

Sunday Times Culture

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

Observer

[A] mightily enjoyable novel

Daily Mail

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

i

A compelling look at a woman's struggle to move on from the devastating effects of her family falling apart in front of her eyes

Stylist

Transcendent Kingdom is quiet in the way a wise soul will sit in the corner, clear their throat and when they speak, everyone listens...Transcendent Kingdom is a book always asking this question: how did we get here?

Bad Form Review

The Ghanaian-American has become a firm literary favour...Transcendent Kingdom is sure to cement her spot further

Stylist

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

Sunday Telegraph

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

Mail on Sunday

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

The Times

The must-read book of the year so far

Elle

Raw, powerful storytelling that tackles race, religion, addiction and grief in a thoughtful way

Good Housekeeping

Exquisitely written with a lightness of touch despite its difficult themes; this novel is a triumph

Red

Beautifully written . . . a raw look at the personal destruction caused by the opioid crisis

Scotsman

A poignant story of family love, loss and ambition

Radio Times

'Yaa's depiction of these illnesses; substance addiction and depression and the family's deep-rooted tangled traumas, is skilful . . . Transcendent Kingdom is a story of love, loss and redemption, and holds a mirror up to one version of the first-generation immigrant experience that will sadly seem familiar to many of us

Melan Mag

Yaa Gyasi's writing is shining even as the tangled traumas of the past come to the surface

Sainsbury's Magazine

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

Telegraph

A brilliant novel, with not a word out of place

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Guardian, Best Books of 2021