After an uncomfortably graphic read last month with Iceberg Slim’s Pimp, the explicit story reading continued with Sapphire’s Push. The story of Precious Jones an illiterate, pregnant 16-year old girl who was repeatedly raped by her father and made to feel invisible. After meeting a radical and attentive teacher Precious is challenged to learn to read and write but also to take control of her life.
The average rating for this novel was 4.5 out of 5. This story did not leave much to the imagination as far as its scenes of molestation. The book club members thought that the author’s writing style made the novel more realistic. Using the voice and slang of a 16-year old from NY whose ability to read and write at less than an 8th grade level really put the reader inside the main character’s head. It made the story more powerful for the book club. One member found the style to be extremely poetic. Book club members also saw Sapphire’s writing as extremely creative in her depiction of Precious and her teacher Miss Rain’s letters to one another. Since Precious couldn’t spell she would sound out words and write them the way they sounded to her. Miss Rain would reply to the letters but also write the correct spelling of each word underneath each sentence as a teaching tool. For the readers of the book club it helped us to see the progression Precious was making as she and Miss Rain continued to communicate.
None of the members could read this novel straight through without cringing or putting it down after reading some of obstacles that Precious had to face. A few members admitted that the events revealed in this novel took them out of their comfort zone. Another member confessed that if he had tears he would have cried while reading this novel. He said that the story continues to haunt and nag him even now that he has finished reading.
Book club members loved the character Miss Rain. She really cared about Precious and her other students that were in the Pre-GED class, which she taught. She met the students where they were intellectually and helped each one to progress at a pace which was comfortable for them. She really was preparing them for life and higher education despite the fact that everyone else had given up on these students.
The story brought back painful memories for some members of acquaintances who have been victims of incest or rape. It’s not something we talk much about as a community but each member recognized that it is an ongoing problem that we must face.
We also talked about the upcoming movie made from this Novel called Precious by Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. A member said the movie’s story line has been watered down a little but it is still one of the most shocking stories to become a feature film. Members said that they would watch the movie and would recommend this novel to people because it reminds us of our humanity. This is a story of resiliency that should be read and watched to convey to the audience to never give up on themselves.
