There was no lightning bolt moment while she was there - just the sense of fascination that a writer learns to lean into. She says, “I literally could not understand any of the paragraphs.” So, in a gesture of support and encouragement, she asked to shadow her friend for the day. The friend, a neuroscientist, was approaching the end of her doctorate and had just published a major paper that Gyasi tried to read, to no avail. 6 in its second week on the hardcover fiction list, was inspired by a visit to a Stanford University lab where an old friend worked. Gyasi’s new book, “ Transcendent Kingdom,” now at No. That was wonderful, but it took me a little bit to figure out how to return to the quiet that had allowed me to write in the first place.” “But then after ‘Homegoing’ came out into a light that was so bright, I became keenly aware that there are people who will pick up my books. It’s such an intensely private and intimate experience,” she explains. “With the first book, it’s like writing in the dark, unsure of whether or not your book will ever see the light of day. Yaa Gyasi says she was intimidated by the prospect of a second novel after “ Homegoing,” which she worked on for seven years. One minute these invisible readers are cheerleaders the next, they’re pelting the computer screen with popcorn. An author attempting a follow-up has an audience in mind, which can be discombobulating. SOPHOMORE SUCCESS Writing a debut novel requires gumption and perseverance, but at least it’s a solitary endeavor.
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