Precious, the new critically acclaimed movie, was based on this book, Push by Sapphire.I have mixed feelings about this book. The word I hear often to describe it is "brutal" and that would be accurate. The depictions of sexual abuse are stomach turning.
The book is written somewhat phonetically, sort of uneducated ghetto street language I suppose (not being racist here, not really sure how else to describe it). That also made it a bit difficult to read.
What really made it difficult for me to read is that Precious names her first daughter, who was born with Down syndrome, "Mongo" as in Mongoloid. Ick. I understand why in the context of the story (because Precious is very ignorant and uneducated) but it doesn't make it any easier. And of course the R word is used a lot in reference to Mongo.
The book didn't strike me to be as uplifting as the movie trailers make the movie out to be. Yes, Precious does eventually stand up for herself and try to better herself, but it's a long, hard climb and honestly, I don't know if she'll get there. The book pretty much leaves that up in the air for you to draw your own conclusion.
This one's up for grabs, too. If anyone's seen the movie, I'd love to hear your reactions to it.
I saw the movie and the best words I can use to explain how it made me feel are "amotionally draining." It did make me want to read the book though. I wanted to know more about her daughter, more than anything else, but if I have to plow my way through poor english and appaling abuse descriptions, I'm not so sure anymore. Oh, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI read the book and seen the movie. This story of a young girl filled with hate and suffering is sad. It is brutal and emotional. She is broken in all ways. School is the first step to getting her life together and that;s what she does. That's why i give her so much credit for this novel.
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