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Push: A Novel |  | Author: Sapphire
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 16.00
Buy New: CDN$ 11.68
as of 9/3/2010 21:18 CDT details
You Save: CDN$ 4.32 (27%)
Seller: Amazon.ca
Rating:  166 reviews
Sales Rank: 2710
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0679766758
EAN: 9780679766759
ASIN: 0679766758
Publication Date: April 29, 1997
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From Amazon.com
Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect. That is the device deployed in the first novel by poet and singer Sapphire. "Sometimes I wish I was not alive," Precious says. "But I don't know how to die. Ain' no plug to pull out. 'N no matter how bad I feel my heart don't stop beating and my eyes open in the morning." An intense story of adversity and the mechanisms to cope with it.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 166
 A TOUGH READ April 27, 2010
J Bug (British Columbia, Canada)
Precious Jones is an angry, obese and illiterate sixteen year old girl who has suffered horrific abuse at the hands of both her parents. Now pregnant with her second child (by her father) Precious is an invisible statistic within both the education and social service systems, just one more of Harlem's casualties and a number that her school would rather advance and graduate than help. With the meeting of an extraordinary teacher Precious is finally `seen' and starts to receive the help and encouragement that she so desperately deserves. Learning not only how to read and write about her life but how to make it on her own for the first time.
At 139 pages Push was a short but tough read for me on many different levels and I found myself putting it aside more than once so I could regroup. The subject matter here is beyond shocking, at times nauseating and definitely not for the feint of heart. And unfortunately just when you think it couldn't possibly get any sadder, it does. Precious's story has also been written in the vernacular and requires some deciphering to be able to understand what she's trying to say.
Through journal entries (and some flashbacks) between Precious and her teacher, Ms Rain Precious tells us her story. Including; illegible writing (with translations) incorrect spelling and grammar, slang, swearing, alphabet recitals, poems and corrections from Ms Rain. As her reading, writing and self esteem issues improve so does the writing in the book, so that towards the end Precious is talking about GEDs and college and I'm enjoying her progress in a very real way. Despite everything Precious's spirit is very real and you can't help but cheer for her and hope for the best.
PUSH is the book that the recent academy award winning film "Precious" was based upon and although I haven't seen the movie yet, out of the two (and in a push) I would recommend the movie.
 wa wa wow! February 26, 2010
C. Lessard (Montreal, Canada)
Such a good book I gave it to my mother-in-law. A novel written like no other, with a moving story and possibly the read of the year!
Profound February 11, 2010
Marsha Baxter (Quebec Canada)
From the moment I picked up this book, I was hooked. The author has written and described Precious so well and with such compassion that I wanted to reach out and hug her. Seeing the improvements in the way Precious writes was wonderful to be a part of. The human spirit ia amazing and this is definitely a book that I will never part with.
Mrs. Q: Book Addict ~Visit my blog for newest reviews~ February 8, 2010
Mrs. Q: Book Addict (Canada)
Title: Push
Author: Sapphire
Publisher: Vintage Books
Source: Personal Copy
Pages. 178
Push is an emotional, raw, and heart-breaking novel. Claireece Precious Jones lives a life that no one wants to hear about. Precious has repeatedly been molested by her father, pregnant at twelve and again at sixteen. Precious doesn't know where to turn or who to ask for help. Her mother is not the nurturing type; she's actually jealous of the attention Precious receives from Carl. She accuses Precious of stealing her husband and repeatedly beats her. Precious is aware that her life is not normal, she is aware that there are parents in this world who love their children. She is just not sure why she was given this set of parents. She wishes she weren't invisible, she wishes she wasn't fat and ugly. She wants more for herself and her children. Her mother gave her daughter to her grandmother but Precious refuses to give up her son. Eventually she enrols in an alternative school, but continues to struggle through life.
I had a hard time reading this novel; emotionally I didn't know if I could continue. At one point I put it down and felt like crying. I couldn't believe the storyline, knowing full well that this does happen in real life. Precious was so young and tried to seek help but was pushed away from everyone. The vulgar language was very raw and disturbing for me. This book throws the harsh realities of life at you. I kept reading because I was rooting for Precious, I felt so sad and angry for her. This book brings you on an emotional roller coaster.
Rated R February 4, 2010
S. Devaladares (Ontario, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was very surprised to find the way this novel was written. There is a lot of profanity and grafic recounts by the narrator, of scence of incest. It is also hard to follow at times because it is written as the main character, Precious Jones, would speak. As one would assume someone who could not read or write and was very under educated would tell a story. Misspelled words, bad grammer etc.
All in all, it was a decent story but very short. Only about 150 pages in length. I didn't feel satisfied when I finished it. I felt like the story could have continued for a while longer in order to have a better conclusion.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 166
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