May: Transcendent Kingdom

Review by Katharina Kindsmüller

The Story

T

© Penguin Random House South Africa

ranscendent Kingdom is the story of Gifty and her family, who emigrated from Ghana to the USA, where each family member struggles with different problems.

Gifty’s brother, a competitive athlete, dies early from a heroin overdose after an injury. Their mother, who has long suffered from depression, is plunged into a deep abyss from grief for her son and not even her faith gives her any support.
Gifty, on the other hand, studies neuroscience in order to research addiction and depression and to scientifically trace her family’s fate.

The second novel by Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi is a powerful and moving family story that combines themes such as racism, the conflict between religion and science, and mental health.

Central questions

How do we deal with grief and trauma? And how do we comfort those we love?

About the reviewer

Katharina Kindsmüller

Worked at the Goethe-Institut until recently.

More informationen

This review is the fifth in the Book of the Month series from the Goethe-Institut South Africa.
A new review by South Africans for South Africans will be published every month, please check regularly.
All books can be borrowed from our library.

All "Book of the Month" reviews

Here you find all reviews of the series Book of the Month. All books are available in Goethe-Institute library in Johannesburg.

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A book about racism, the tensions between emotional religion and rational science and mental health.

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