“Push” by Sapphire Review

Posted by Lana on Mar 15, 2010 in Book Reviews, Books | 0 comments

Push, by Sapphire, is one of those books you hear about, and assume is going to be a redemptive story of triumph, starting out sad and ending up, well…happy. I must admit, I am a sucker for off beat, alternative types of subject matter, and figured Push would be uplifting and empowering . As open minded as I feel that I am, I found myself horrified through most of this book. I’ve read about abuse, neglect, addictions, ect. But the author went a step further with this one. The abuse is so grossly depicted, nothing is left to the imagination. Claireece Precious Jones, the main character has had a rough life, to put it mildly. And it doesn’t help that she’s poor, angry, illiterate, overweight, unloved, unimaginably abused by her mother, and raped repeatedly throughout her childhood by her father. The book opens with Precious detailing her current pregnancy, revealing to the reader that it is in fact, her father’s baby. Her first baby (also by her father), whom she gave birth to at only twelve years of age, was born with Down Syndrome – or her words “down sinder.” From that point, I was sucked into this story; much like seeing roadkill, or a trainwreck -you know you should look away…but for some reason, you just can’t.
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What brings the character of Precious to life is the ghetto, ebonic dialect used by the author, poet and singer Saphhire. Told in first person, and in “diary style”, Precious accounts her daily life of caring for her depressed, overweight, abusive mother. For example, even at twelve, she does all the cooking, and is forced to eat until she’s sick. She also details her experiences in school; how out of place she feels, the perceptions of others toward her. The inhumane acts she forces Precious to perform dating all the way back to her toddler years are so horrific and unsettling, I couldn’t sleep after reading it.

The book is set in Harlem, 1987. After being expelled from school for being pregnant again, sixteen year old Precious is directed by a social worker, Miss Weiss, to an alternative school program which turns her life around. There, under the caring supervision of her teacher, Ms. Blu Rain, she learns not only to read and write, but to open up about the deep, harrowing truths of her abuse. We learn about her fellow classmate’s backgrounds, which gives a needed break to the heavy tone of Precious’ story. Although her classmates’ stories aren’t much better than Precious’. The side stories do however, balance out the book to give it a richness that it needed. Ms. Rain teaches the students to read and write by having the students record (however they can) their daily lives on paper. As she reads these journal entries, she interprets each sentence, rewriting it correctly, then gives it back to them. I thought this was genius on the part of the author because that device alone helped tell the stories with raw, brutal honesty. From her newfound education, Precious uses poetry to express her emotions, finding a way to come to terms with the abuse she’s endured her whole life by confronting it head on with the support of her teacher, social worker, and classmates.

I don’t want to give away the plot twists and surprises, but I will conclude that there are no real resolutions to the broken relationships in Precious’s life. However, new, healthier relationships are formed which transform her from a person with zero hope, to one of new found strength and aspirations she never thought possible.

In summary, I believe Sapphire chose the dark theme of this book to give us a glimpse into a world uknown to most, yet does exist in our society. It is being experienced at this very moment by someone, somewhere out there; and sometimes, there are no real happy endings. There are moments of revelation that can take a person to the next level; a high mountain to climb even to the smallest achievement, but that is the point of this story. And that, is the story of Precious Jones.

I give this book [xrr rating=4/5]

Quoted from the book Push by Sapphire:

“How that is so I don’t know. How Mama and Daddy know me sixteen years and hate me, how a stranger meet me and love me. (131)”
— Sapphire (Push)

“I say I drownin’ in river. She don’t look me like I’m crazy but say, If you just sit there the river gonna rise up drown you! Writing could be the boat carry you to the other side. (97)”
— Sapphire (Push)

Thas the alphabet. Twenty- six letters in all. Them letters make up words. Them words everything.”
— Sapphire (Push)