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Transcendent Kingdom

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Transcendent Kingdom

By: Yaa Gyasi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the best-selling 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.

©2020 Yaa Gyasi (P)2020 Penguin Audio African American Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction United States World Literature

Critic Reviews

"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 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)
All stars
Most relevant  
An insight into a family thats seems the same as us all. Themes of suicide, drug addiction, fascism and Alabama.

Deep and meaningful

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Took me a long time to get into this (I read the forst 15 chapters in the paperback version) but once I started Audible version, I loved it.

Fascinating, sad and beautiful

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Narrator made it so enjoyable to listen to. Highly recommend as an audiobook. Beautiful and sad story

Loved listening to this

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Loved this audiobook - wish I could start all over again, a wonderful (sometimes heartbreaking) listen.

Loved it

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I read this book with my body as much my mind. The only thing I didn’t like is that it finished.

Can I give this book 10 stars?

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The story grapples with many relevant topics such as race, religion, addiction and immigration. It may be triggering in some of these regards, but tells a compelling story about identity and self discovery. The biggest struggle for me was the narrators voice, it felt quite robotic although the Ghanaian language inclusion was well done. The narration may make it difficult to invest in listening to the story, this was definitely the biggest thing to push past. Enjoyed the story but found it a challenging listen to embrace.

Great story but struggled with the narration

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.