Sapphire is a Gem

About a month ago, I finally finished Push: A Novel by Sapphire and here is my review.

It was great.  I really enjoyed it.  It is a very short read, but it was hard for me to get through.  It is extremely well written, but it is written in the first person of Precious Jones, the protagonist.  Precious Jones is a 16-year-old girl who is illiterate and has a an unbelievably rough life, so the beginning of the novel is written almost completely phonetically.  Sapphire really impressed me with her writing skills, because as the story progresses, you can see Precious’ spelling and writing gradually become better.  On top of that, the content is so intense, I really had to take my time to get through it.

Previously, in a ‘trailers to watch’ posting, I wrote about the highly anticipated movie Precious coming out.  This is the book that that movie is based on.  The movie debuted at Sundance this past year and won multiple awards including the Jury Prize for Mo’Nique role as Precious’ mother.   Now Mo’Nique is already being considered for a Best Supporting Actress Nomination in the 2010 Academy Awards.

The story takes place in the late 1980’s in Harlem, blocks away from my old apartment. The book was so rough and so real that I am not sure how much they will have to edit down to make it a major motion picture.  Precious’ history with her mother and father was nothing but negative and her life was an uncontrolled downward spiral.  The ending of the book was a little hopeful and uplifting, but still completely depressing.  I am sure things will have to be lightened up for the movie.

Overall, the book was excellent and I would highly recommend it.  And I cannot wait for the movie.  And to top it off, Oprah is an executive producer, so I feel like it is going to be an instant classic.  The release date for the film is November 6th, but I recommend reading the book ahead of time.  You will be blown away.