Push: A Novel

by Sapphire

Book Overview

A new 25th anniversary edition of the instant classic that inspired the major motion picture and Sundance Film Festival winner Precious: Based on the Novel 'PUSH' by Sapphire, whose power and ferocity... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679766758
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

I'm not sure how to feel about it

So, I read this all-in-one sitting. I was looking for more detail. The book is pretty short. I love the movie definitely a movie you grew up watching. I got the book thinking it would go more in detail on her life after the baby but sadly it didn't. I recommend as a quick read, but I wouldn't read it again.

Book is always better than the movie

The book itself was in great condition with the original sleeve. Light normal signs or wear and tear. The book was very detailed. It ran my mind with the details of thing that happened it honestly left me wanting more of Precious story.

Amazing!!!

this book is AWESOME. literally couldn't put it down. it made me feel so many different emotions, and it's just amazing overall. please buy it!! it's so good :)

Utterly Disturbing

This story was hard to get through. It has alot of trigger warnings and the writing style can be quite difficult to get through.

Omg

This book was so hard to read. Not because of the grammar and spelling, but because of the horrible events it describes! I felt so sorry for precious as I read what she was going through. I couldn't imagine living like this. Great story.

Riveting

Sapphire's PUSH broke my heart. I read the book for my feminist book club, and I was one of the few who actually finished it--the others were too put off the brutal reality of Precious' life. I made myself read it because I KNOW there are women in this world who suffer fates as bad as--or worse than--that of Precious Jones. It's an ideal eye-opener for White, middle-class suburbia.

Jessi's Review of Push

I must admit, when I first began reading Push, I was a little uncomfortable with the narrative perspective because it was so blunt in its descriptions. However, as hard of a time as I had with reading this text, I had an even harder time putting it down. Sapphire's novel forced me to face the reality of the verbally and sexually abusive life that Precious Jones was forced to live in. Unfortunately, Precious is not alone and Sapphire took the first step in acknowleding this problem by putting it into words, even though the words make some uncomfortable. Once I started reading and listening to Precious, I could not let go. Precious Jones is a sixteen year old girl, verbally and physically abused by her mother and sexually abused by her father. She gives birth to two children, her own father also being father of her children. However, this book is not only an attack on the abuse that occurs within a family. Sapphire also places blame on the educational system that sits back while their students are deprived of educational advancement because of their situations at home. There are so many children, like Precious, who want to learn but come to believe that they are dumb because no one took the time to examine the problem closer. I hurt for Precious because she had no self esteem, how could she when her father stripped everything from her, including her virginity, before she was even out of elementary school. I could not put the book down without knowing how she was going to rise above her circumstances. I got so wrapped up in this book, believing in Precious and everything she went through. Sapphire's book involved so many emotions and was so inspiring that I believe no student or teacher should go without reading this book.

Great Book!

Push. Thrust. Drive. Ram. Move forward. Set in motion. Press on. It all encompasses the very essence of what it is to struggle. There are two ways of exerting force, one is by pushing down, the other by pulling up. Sapphire certainly pushed the envelope with this first novel. These women tapped into their last reserves of strength to move forward under brutal and bizarre circumstances. They have collected what little is left of themselves, pulled together in the spirit of love and compassion, and decided to press on. This novel is a powerful display of perseverance, and determination. Read this book and know that whenever you feel like you just can't keep going, all you need to do is Push a little harder, pull someone with you, and keep moving on.

PUSH: A Stunning First Novel

To call "Push", the first novel by noted African American poet and singer Sapphire, shocking or devastating would not adequately describe its incessant power. The book is basically a diary that is both stark and realistic, as we are offered a look into Clareece Precious Jones' world: pregnant for the second time by her step-father, mentally and sexually abused by her own mother and neglected by an overwhelmed school system that makes it all too easy for a 16-year old from Harlem to fall through the cracks. In the beginning the book may cause many readers to backtrack to get a true understanding of what they have just read. I would implore all to keep at it for "Push" drips with realism -- a realism that is all too often ignored or disbelieved. Luckily for Precious, her salvation comes at the hands of one dedicated teacher from an alternative school and her fellow students with whom she quickly bonds. Sapphire, herself a former reading teacher, was clearly influenced by real-life people and that is conveyed strongly throughout the novel as all of the characters -- major and minor -- are complete and three-dimensional. A very brief novel, "Push" does not offer a storybook ending and may even disappoint many with what they see as an incomplete ending. However, it concludes realistically as we AND Precious will have to wait and see what the future holds.