Tournament of Books discussion

thread to discuss Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Okay who's ready for an unpopular opinion time!

This is the third novel I've read this year featuring a grad student in the sciences (Real Life; Hex) and the 22nd featuring a main character dealing with the trauma drama of her immigrant parents.

I don't want to be a jaded reader (or person) - if this were the only novel doing these things I encountered this year, I'd be well justified in thinking it was good, maybe even read it with my book club or call it my top read of the year. But I have to ask myself, since I have read all these other similar books, does it offer anything new or different from them? Sadly, it doesn't. I can discuss a few that in fact do more. So for me it's a solid 4-star read, which I hand out to most decent books. But it doesn't have that special factor that would make it a 5-star read.

So it's similarity to other books is one unpopular opinion. I have another!

I have seen many reviews saying they like this book less than Homegoing. To me, Homegoing needed to be longer or try to do less; this book is more balanced. But. Is it in this balance where it fails to stand out? I'm still pondering this one.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Okay who's ready for an unpopular opinion time!

This is the third novel I've read this year featuring a grad student in the sciences (Real Life; Hex) and the 22nd f..."

I also gave it 4 stars, but i think I liked it more than you. I thought she wrote about grief so well, and I liked how she played with faith and the questioning of faith. (I probably would have given it 5 stars if the ending wasn't quite so neatly wrapped.)

Elizabeth wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Okay who's ready for an unpopular opinion time!

This is the third novel I've read this year featuring a grad student in the sciences (Real Life; [book:..."

Yes, I personally identified with her Evangelical background and how that can stunt relationships in your young adulthood, but found even that to be directly tied to the church her mother went to in Ghana, which practiced evangelicalism differently than her church in Alabama.

I felt like the way all those things worked together (the neuroscience, her faith, her brother's addiction) made it a good book. Though I'll admit I don't recall precisely how it ended.

Kyle wrote: "I felt like the way all those things worked together (the neuroscience, her faith, her brother's addiction) made it a good book. Though I'll admit I don't recall precisely how it ended."

Same! I really appreciated the faith aspect of this story, even though my upbringing was the opposite. I'll admit I don't remember too many details either though, included how the story ended. I might need to reread this in print.

To Jenny's point on how it's similar to other books and doesn't necessarily add something different, I get that. When I was just listening to True Love and reading All Grown Up in print a few days ago, at one point I was like, "ugh, these are too similar and the 'woman who's life is a mess and makes bad decisions about sex' is an overused and frustrating concept." Ultimately I ended up liking All Grown Up because there was a lot more to it. Not so much for True Love though. As a writer, I do remind myself to refrain from comparing books though, especially if the issue is similarly themed books published around the same time. Since it takes years to write a novel (and go through the editing/publishing process) it's hard to avoid having similar ideas as other authors, and it's just bad luck if your book published near the same time as another, causing readers to compare the two. And for me, the faith aspect of this story brought it to the next level, but I also haven't read Real Life (it's on my shelf!) or Hex, so that may have helped.

Lauren wrote: "Kyle wrote: "I felt like the way all those things worked together (the neuroscience, her faith, her brother's addiction) made it a good book. Though I'll admit I don't recall precisely how it ended..."

So true on True Love and All Grown Up though... plus Mossfegh and Pizza Girl and The Pisces... that’s a true trend of young female writers in MfA programs....

Just to clarify this novel feels nothing like Hex or Real Life but I thought it was interesting just the same! I’ve read Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, and unlike the subtitle makes it sound, it’s really a book about this phenomenon of ideas happening at the same time, pretty interesting.

I guess I’m trying to critique my own familiarity and wondering if I can approach each book without that context, or even if I should!

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "So true on True Love and All Grown Up though... plus Mossfegh and Pizza Girl and The Pisces... that’s a true trend of young female writers in MfA programs...."

And I'll pile on unnecessarily here and add Bunny and Luster. Young women and bad sex decisions isn't my #1 favorite plot but I liked those two books so much, that I'm now eager to read more to compare them. The strength of these two books for me was the writing - so clever and artful in the best way. I think it's become my favorite writing flavor at the moment - or at least one that's helping me get through 2020.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Kyle wrote: "I felt like the way all those things worked together (the neuroscience, her faith, her brother's addiction) made it a good book. Though I'll admit I don't recall precise..."

Makes sense! And I really enjoyed Big Magic when I read it years ago. Thanks for the reminder. :)

This is a solid 4-star for me; early on I thought it might be five, because the writing was so beautiful, but I was disappointed in the ending (and the time jump and hard shift into that ending). I look forward to discussing this in the commentariat, though, especially that central tenet of faith vs reason.

I watched a virtual reading of this novel that Gyasi did for Houston’s Inprint last fall. During the discussion, she mentioned that her early readers strongly encouraged her to add the epilogue onto the end of the book. I see from above that the epilogue did not land with many of you. Gyasi explained that her trusted readers felt the book was too bleak and unfinished without something hopeful on the end. I’m not sure I agree with that, but I do think the epilogue added a note of hopefulness, and I especially appreciated that during this difficult year.

I loved this book, despite reading several similar titles over the year. This one felt richer and messier (in a good way) to me with all of the added complexity of the religious and addiction issues. This book addressed so many complex things in a fairly concise space. I was impressed overall.

Gwendolyn wrote: "I watched a virtual reading of this novel that Gyasi did for Houston’s Inprint last fall. During the discussion, she mentioned that her early readers strongly encouraged her to add the epilogue ont..."

That's so interesting to hear! I recently had a consultation with a writer/editor/publisher about the novel I'm working on, and she pushed back on the (mostly) happy ending I had planned. She wants me to tie back to a central issue in the story showing that people's lives can never truly be "ok" when we still have these oppressive systems. I agree with her point, but have a feeling most readers prefer the "happier" ending, as they encouraged Gyasi to incorporate. But maybe hardcore lit fic fans like ToB followers want more of that realistic messiness? Something I'll be thinking about more...

I'm glad you loved this one. I'm tempted to reread it to enjoy it all over again. :)

I loved this book. It is looking like it might be my favorite for the 2021 ToB, running neck-and-neck with Interior Chinatown.

Homegoing is on my list of all-time favorite books. Now with Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi is on my list of favorite living American authors. I'll read anything she writes.

Oh man, as a female neuroscientist who studies the mental illness that killed her brother, this hit a little close to home for me. I’m gutted. It was beautiful.

Maggie wrote: "Oh man, as a female neuroscientist who studies the mental illness that killed her brother, this hit a little close to home for me. I’m gutted. It was beautiful."

Wow, that's quite a connection. I'm glad it was a positive experience for you overall, since that could be a challenge to read something that hits that close in such a specific situation.

Thanks Lauren. Gyasi did an amazing job capturing some of the good and the bad of being a scientist with this particular kind of very complex motivation. I was really worried that I wouldn't like it, but I found it truly lovely.

For those that are interested, it was completely obvious what lab Gifty's science was based on (and this is confirmed in the Acknowledgements). The PI is *kind of a big deal* and her dreams of a profile in the New Yorker likely come from this article...
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

I also identified with the evangelical childhood, but it made me like the book less. I suppose I was bored...I've already sat through countless church services, revival services, Bible conferences, Missionary conferences, and (worst of all) Prophecy conferences. "Revisiting" those long miserable hours isn't triggering, it's just not that interesting. For ME.

I very much loved Homegoing. This is clearly a case of my background making me a bad match for this book, although I see that others with the same upbringing appreciated it a lot.

I just finished this, it was a "good" read for me, 3.5 stars, I liked it, didn't love it & I guess I expected more. The ending felt very rushed to me...I liked reading more about Gifty & Nana, not so much about the mice but I do understand the connection

This one made my "liked" list mostly because the characters were well-drawn (even the protagonist, not a Mary-Sue), and I'm a sucker for books that incorporate spiritual or religious themes without being preachy. The search for meaning still interests me.

I enjoyed this very much, not just for the narrative and the writing but for the thoughts that it left me with upon finishing the novel. The whole religion vs science, and the depression and addiction issue. It is a dark read, that gives, for most of the novel, no glimpses of hope. I am not sure about the epilogue. I think I would have preferred, although dark and not happy, the ending to have been more ambiguous and finished with Gifty starting the long drive back home. For me it is a truer ending to the narrative. But hey, that's just me. :-)

I felt really connected to Gifty and everything she was going through. Some of it was hard to read about but the storytelling kept me in it.