9. Push: A Novel by Sapphire
Sep. 17th, 2007 12:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helens78 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
50books_pocI first heard of Push in this set of reviews by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
into_desire. (Thank you!) Both her review and the back of the book make Push sound like a modern retelling of The Color Purple, with an education bent -- I really thought when I picked it up (especially when it starts out with a narrative, in Precious's dialect, about her having two children by her father) that it was a retelling, a remake, if you will.
It turns out that shortsells the novel by quite a bit, as it's a modern story with a modern setting and theme. It's shocking and thought-provoking, throwing one hardship after another at a girl who has no idea that there even are resources to help her deal with these things, let alone how to find those resources. But it also brings her to life, showing how she learns and grows and improves and discovers that she really does have a story to tell, if only there's someone to listen.
It doesn't have the super-happy ending of The Color Purple. By the end of the book, while we're sure that Precious is determined, we don't know how big a chance the world's going to take on her, how much opportunity she'll have to pursue her dreams. She's the mother of two, one special needs; she's HIV-positive; she's still working towards her GED. But she's trying, and it seems like she's found a lot of people to care about her, giving her some of the love she's always needed but never had. It's a good ending, a positive one, but happy would be going too far.
into_desire. (Thank you!) Both her review and the back of the book make Push sound like a modern retelling of The Color Purple, with an education bent -- I really thought when I picked it up (especially when it starts out with a narrative, in Precious's dialect, about her having two children by her father) that it was a retelling, a remake, if you will.It turns out that shortsells the novel by quite a bit, as it's a modern story with a modern setting and theme. It's shocking and thought-provoking, throwing one hardship after another at a girl who has no idea that there even are resources to help her deal with these things, let alone how to find those resources. But it also brings her to life, showing how she learns and grows and improves and discovers that she really does have a story to tell, if only there's someone to listen.
It doesn't have the super-happy ending of The Color Purple. By the end of the book, while we're sure that Precious is determined, we don't know how big a chance the world's going to take on her, how much opportunity she'll have to pursue her dreams. She's the mother of two, one special needs; she's HIV-positive; she's still working towards her GED. But she's trying, and it seems like she's found a lot of people to care about her, giving her some of the love she's always needed but never had. It's a good ending, a positive one, but happy would be going too far.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-17 10:02 pm (UTC)It's a good ending, a positive one, but happy would be going too far.
Yes, that's exactly right.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 04:17 am (UTC)Oh ghod do I feel old.
It does sound like happy would be going to far to describe that ending, yeah. But that it would be helpful to someone in a similar situation, maybe opening up some possibilities.
Interview with Sapphire on the background for Push
Date: 2007-11-04 03:13 am (UTC)Re: Interview with Sapphire on the background for Push
Date: 2007-11-04 03:41 am (UTC)Re: Interview with Sapphire on the background for Push
Date: 2007-11-04 03:58 am (UTC)