Editorial Review:
|
An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears and the world begins to open up for her when a courageous, determined teacher bullies, cajoles, and inspires her to learn to read, to define her own feelings and set them down in a diary.
|
|
Reader Reviews for Push:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Powerful and touching
Comment: I haven't heard about the book until the movie came out. I decided to buy the book before watching the movie since it's the original. Such a powerful and honest portrayal - there's an elegance in the brutal honesty of such a serious subject matter. I love the style and story telling.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Horrible Writing
Comment: The overall story is fine. I like shocking stories about difficult subjects. Although to be honest, I felt dumber after reading the author's illiterate writing. I understand the writing style is meant to convey the atmosphere but I it was not necessary for the entire book, the main character's journal entries are more than enough. I felt the characters are not developed enough and overall the book is trash. The story lacked development and its only merit is its shock value.
The story is interesting and the movie might be better but the book was a huge let down.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What is wrong with you people?
Comment: I was amazed by all the negative views of this book on Amazon- to each his own, I guess. I fortunately didn't let those influence my decision to read this book; it is NOT pornography, it does NOT glorify any of the crimes that take place in it. It is a window into a world fortunately few of us know - a real, horrible place that we should know about it and do what we can to stop!
Is this book graphic? Yes. Does this book glorify rape? Hell no. The narrator says she feels shame at feeling pleasure - have any of you spoken with Rape survivors? It can happen and it confuses them. Does Precious love Louis Farrakhan? Yes, but remember she starts out as an illiterate who's never been out of Harlem. With more experience and education she'll learn that the "cracker" didn't cause her problems and is not the root of all evil. Does she value lighter skin - yes, because in her twisted environment, it's considered attractive. She talks about her yearning for a normal relationship, and bitterness that the stupid boys she knows go after lighter skinned women. Is it enraging that she is not angry with these boys for this preference, instead cursing her own dark complexion? Yes, but this is very realistic - she accepts the reality with which she is presented. The book is about her slow rise out of that hell, and her changing despite all the setbacks (too polite a term for all the excremental situations she is faced with!)
It's a hard book to read, but it's amazing that in that it gives you hope. I hate to jump on the celebrity bandwagon and say "what a life changing book" blah blah blah, but it is what is is - a great book. Yes, I prefer The Color Purple (hence four stars out of five), but the problem with that book is people can shrug it off as a different time, a different place. Precious (or Push, its original title) is important in that it reminds us that these problems are still very much with us and are crying out for action.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a harsh look at a brutal life
Comment: This was a hard book to read on many levels. But the difficult books are also often the most rewarding, and I couldn't put this down until I finished it.
Precious Jones has what can only be described as a brutal life. She's poor and illiterate, and suffers daily physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of both of her parents. The book is an unflinching look at her life, starting with her second pregnancy at age 16. It's also a book of redemption, that a girl who is illiterate and has suffered the most horrid of abuses can, with the help of committed individuals, try to make a better life for herself and her children.
It's hard to read because it's written in the voice of Precious. Her diction is just what you'd expect out of an illiterate girl: bad and often nearly incoherent grammar, lots of slang. In seeing her life through her eyes, we witness the full horror of it, including graphic descriptions of her abuse and her own mixed reactions to the abuse. The book is relentless and gritty, with an ending that's at least a little bit happier than it started, but it's obvious that Precious will still have more challenges in front of her. While the ending isn't necessarily satisfying, it was painfully realistic.
Customer Rating:
Summary: more than necessary
Comment: I'm not sure why I finished this book... maybe waiting for it to redeem itself. The story is the same "teacher saves student" story with way too descriptive incest. The latter does not add to the book, especially since it is not based on a true story. I did not feel that I am a better person for reading this book.
|
|
