Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Transcendent Kingdom

  • By: Yaa Gyasi
  • Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
  • Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (380 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Transcendent Kingdom

By: Yaa Gyasi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Enough cover art
The Bell Jar cover art
All My Knotted-Up Life cover art
Edge of Apocalypse cover art
Broken Angels cover art
Rosemary cover art
A Different Blue cover art
The Japanese Lover cover art
What My Mother and I Don't Talk About cover art
Trail of Broken Wings cover art
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies cover art

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)

What listeners say about Transcendent Kingdom

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    199
  • 4 Stars
    129
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    233
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    178
  • 4 Stars
    95
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully performed

Loved it. And the excellent performance made it all the more encapsulating. Couldn't believe it was the same actor reading all the characters. Sad and emotional in places and hits on many themes, immigration, racism, science vs religion, addiction and ultimately is about the main characters journey through family trauma to personal acheivement. Most importantly the main character and her family feel so real and flawed and lovable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just fine

I was so excited to read this book as I was absolutely mesmerised by Homegoing. Unfortunately this story die not hold the same captivating story telling nor the deep characterisation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Would give this book 10 stars if I could

One of the best books I’ve listened to. Story and performance. Can’t wait for Yaa Gyasi’s next book to come out…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

fascinating and heart breaking

a family tale of loss and identity. really interesting. voice actor did a great job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptionally read audio book

The storyline is so relatable and covers so many aspects of life that I have seen myself - from mental health, to religion and to the experience of being a child of the diaspora. It is all tenderly handled and so beautifully read. The voices of each character are probably the best I've heard in any audio book so far and not distracting at all (as sometimes they can be on audio books). This is a beautiful book and bought me to tears at points as I listened throughout my day. It's such a gift when someone can articulate your experiences through story and this book does just that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning

Truly stunning novel; relatable, poignant and heartbreaking. I found it hard to put it down.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely incredible read

A must read for everyone. Yaa Gyasi is an astonishing author who weaved words like a detailed oriented locksmith

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

insightful and interesting book

engrossing story from the beginning. the characters are so believable.; you might need a tissue to hand .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best book I’ve read this year

This book is so cathartic for anyone who has struggled with their Christian faith and the church

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth persevering

I really enjoyed Yaa Gyasi’s last book and had high hopes for this one. I took a while to get into it but J am so glad I did. A poignant deep dive into religion, immigrant life and finding ways of coping with the death of a sibling. I’m glad I got to the every end. The narrator was excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!