Of course, much has been made of Sapphire’s 1996 novel about the life of Clareece Precious Jones, a survivor of incest and a mother of two in Harlem. The book is delivered in the voice of Precious. Despite the fact that it is the shortest novel we have reviewed so far, it is one of the most powerful.
The book is written in the voice of Precious, a sixteen year old girl, who is illiterate despite having attended school. It is horrific to read of her living conditions, being raped by her father and brutalized by her mother. The failings of the educational system and that of social services loom as large as the Manhattan skyline in the life of this Harlem native.
Despite the rich history and culture of her home burrough, she harbors intense self-hatred and the misguided belief that only white people are real. When she meets a woman of her dark complexion and body type in the alternative school she attends because she is pregnant (she gets suspended from regular school because of the pregnancy, by the way), she refuses to believe that the woman is a teacher. The school proves to be the catalyst for change in Precious’ life. She befriends several students, moves out of her abusive mother’s home, and learns to read and express herself through journaling and poetry composition.
However, the travails of Precious are far from over as she discovers that her father who has raped and impregnated her has infected her with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Her mother also keeps trying to bring Precious and her second child, Abdul, home with her and her social worker proves not to be an entirely helpful force in Precious’ life goals. The story does not have a fairy tale ending, but there is hope for Precious.
While Miss B and I felt the mother and grandmother of Precious were ridiculous and the father should have died in prison for their role in her situation, the story was compelling and inspiring and for that deserved our highest honor, two godiva truffles.
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