Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi's follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut novel, Homegoing, tells the story of a Ghanian family through the eyes of Gifty, an American-born doctoral candidate in neuroscience studying reward-seeking behavior. As a child, Gifty's world is turned upside down. Witnessing her mother's suffering following her brother's heroin overdose, she makes it her life's work to uncover the mystery of addiction and depression. Moving between past and present, struggling with science and faith, Gifty is determined to find the answers to her most pressing life questions. Intimate, moving and introspective, this story is a brilliant and complex narrative of an immigrant family experience in the United States.
If you liked Transcendent Kingdom, here are other books that are sure to hold your attention.
A Particular Kind of Black Man: Tunde Akinola immigrates to the United States from Nigeria at age 5 with his mentally ill mother and frustrated father. With time, he must figure out who he is while confronting racism, cultural identity and family estrangement within the context of the American way of life. Compelling and thought-provoking, this story will keep you thinking about it even after you've finished reading.
Red at the Bone: Sixteen-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony brings together her family and friends, and exposes the complexities of their relationships. Told from multiple points of view, this beautifully written and richly detailed story weaves together a complex narrative of race, culture, identity and self-acceptance within an African American family.
The Unseen World tells the story of Ada and her father, David, a brilliant computer scientist. After David is diagnosed with a debilitating mental condition, Ada is determined to find out who her father was and, in turn, learn more about herself. This complex novel is elegant, methodical, emotionally engaging and well worth the read.
Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Disgraced, is part memoir, part fiction. This engaging, character-driven novel tells the story of a Pakistani American immigrant family's search for identity and belonging, facing racism and conflict.
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. This masterfully written novel tells a story of two brothers; one seeking life in America, the other seeking revolution in Calcutta.
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