Monday, November 16, 2009

From Book to Film: Push to Precious



She say, "Write." I tell her, "I am tired. Fuck you!" I scream, "You don't know nuffin' what I been through!" I scream at Ms Rain. I never do that before. Class look shock. I feel embarrass, stupid; sit down, I'm made a fool of myself on top of everything else. "Open your notebook Precious." "I'm tired," I says. She says, "I know you are but you can't stop now Precious, you gotta push." And I do.
[pg 97]




Push
by Sapphire
Knopf, 1996
Fiction; 192 pgs

Book Source: Paid for with my own hard earned cash.
Rating: *****


Several months ago I was approached by a coworker and asked if I had read Sapphire's Push. She had seen a trailer of the upcoming movie and knew she just had to see it. When she discovered it was based on a book, she thought of me.

Push is not one of those novels that will appeal to everyone. It may offend some. It is a book that will drag out the reader's darker emotions: anger and sadness. It did for me, anyway. I read this book with tears in my eyes. I had a few choice names for the mother and father. My heart ached for Precious Jones. No child should have to endure what she did. No child. Ever. And yet it is also a story about hope and overcoming the odds. In that way, it is an inspirational novel.

My coworker insists that the novel is based on a true story, but I haven't been able to verify that. As far as I know, it is a work of fiction. However, before you take comfort in that, keep in mind that about 1 out of 4 girls in the U.S. are sexually abused (1 in 6 boys). Most sexual abuse occurs by someone close to the child, someone the child is supposed to trust. Precious' own story may be fiction, but many children throughout the world suffer in similarly every day. They endure not only sexual abuse but physical and emotional abuse as well. They fall through the cracks of our school systems, barely able to read and write, even by the time they are in their teens. I know. I've seen this first hand.

Sapphire tells the story using Precious' own voice, in Precious' vernacular. Words are spelled out phonetically, there are plenty of curse words, and certain phrases and concepts are repeated several times; while this might seem like it would be bothersome, it was not at all. If anything, the writing style gives voice to the character, putting the reader in her shoes if only for the span of the novel. It did not take long for me to fall into the rhythm of the story.

Precious is 16 years old at the start of the novel, pregnant with her second child. She had given birth to a daughter when she was only 12 years old. The father of her children is her own father, a man who has been raping her since she was a young child. She is extremely overweight and the butt of many jokes. Precious has a very limited world view, which is expanded through the course of the novel. All her life she has been alone, friendless and with hardly any support from others. Her mother is downright evil, beating her daughter regularly. I could not drum up an ounce of sympathy for Precious' mother. I don't think I was meant to.

Kicked out of junior high because she is pregnant, Precious is told she must attend an alternative school. It is there where she meets Blue Rain, an unorthodox teacher who draws Precious and her classmates out. For the first time in her life, Precious feels like she belongs somewhere. She connects with her classmates and teacher. She experiences the kindness of others, something completely foreign to her. She also comes to realize she is not alone.

Precious is one of those characters I wish I could reach into the novel and hug, reassuring her that she is beautiful and smart, and that she doesn't deserve the abuse she has suffered. She is courageous and good at heart. She thinks so little of herself and yet there is a spark deep inside her that keeps her going. She isn't completely without self-confidence, though it is extremely fragile. She craves praise and eats it up when it is offered. Reading the stories of her classmates, I felt the same way about them. Each of them also had suffered much in their short lives, enduring pain and loss that no child should have to endure.

Blue Rain realizes right away that the young women in her class need to learn to believe in themselves. She could easily stick to the curriculum and prepare them for the GED. She wants to do more than that for them, though.

Precious can barely read or write at the start of the book, and, as the novel progresses, the reader can see the growth she makes in the narrative. While this novel is a horror story in some respects, it is also an inspirational one. My heart broke for Precious time and time again. It also swelled at her successes, even the smallest of ones. Push is no fairy tale. There is no miraculous happy ending. Everything does not turn out perfectly in the end. What there is, however, is hope.

I couldn't help but think of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye as I read Push. Many of the same themes run through both novels. The Color Purple by Alice Walker also came to mind which turned out to be quite fitting given the novel is referenced frequently. Precious identifies with Celcie from The Color Purple.

I think it is important not to overlook the cultural aspects of the novel. Precious is a black young woman, living in the Bronx with her mother who is collecting welfare. Discrimination is nothing new to her. She does not trust the authorities nor most white people. She spends much of her time wishing she was lighter skinned and thinner. What happened to her would not have happened had she been white, she reasons. One of my favorite scenes in the novel is when she attends her first Survivors of Incest Anonymous meeting. She walks in feeling alone, as if no one in the room will be able to identify with her or understand the horrors she has suffered. She walks out with the realization that she is far from alone and that what happened to her could have happened to anyone, regardless of race, size or economic background. Child abuse has no boundaries when it comes to culture. It affects us all regardless.

Push is one of those novels I can talk about forever if given the chance. I have given you a small taste of it here and hope you will give it a try. And if you are up for it, you might want to watch the movie too.

Movies based on books are rarely as good as their predecessors. We all know that. Some of you may avoid watching movies based on books you have read for that very reason. Others, like me, run to the movie theater (or the Netflix website) to see how those movies turned out.

Because of a summer movie with the same title, Push became Precious when it hit movie theaters. I couldn't wait the couple of days it would take for the movie to appear in a theater closer to my town, and so I dragged my husband to Los Angeles so we could see it at the ArcLight in Hollywood, where it opened its first weekend in limited release.

I have already talked at length about the book and so will not do so again while talking about the movie. All I really have to say is wow. Precious is quite a movie. The rave reviews you hear about Mo'Nique serving up an Oscar worthy performance as the mother is true. It was raw and oh so real. The final scene with Mo'Nique in the film is especially gut wrenching. Gabourey Sidibe who played Precious was outstanding in performance too. She had the same edge as the character in the novel, the same heart, and won me over just as quickly. I had been a little worried about the dream sequences going into the movie, but my concerns were unwarranted. While they were a bit more of a spectacle in the movie than they had been in the book, they were well placed and definitely worthwhile.

The movie differs from the book in a few ways, including the ending--although the overall feel of the two were much the same. I really don't feel pointing out the differences matters as a result. I think the only complaint I have about the movie is that I wish I'd gotten a little deeper look at Precious' classmates. I understand, though, the decision not to go that route. Movies have time limits and not every detail from a book can make it onto the big screen.

The movie enriched my appreciation for the book and vice versa. Just as in the book, I watched Precious grow from victim to survivor. While her overall story is terribly sad, her courage and hope make her an inspiration.


Movie: Precious (2009)
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Directed By: Lee Daniels
Written By: Geoffrey Fletcher (screenplay) & Sapphire (novel)
Rating: 4 Bags of Popcorn





Monday's Movie is hosted by Sheri at A Novel Menagerie.


© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sunday Salon: Next Up on the TBR Pile

My immediate TBR pile has not fallen over yet, although it has come awfully close a few times. I am in between books at the moment. On occasion I actually know what I will be reading next while other times I am daunted by all my choices and have a difficult time deciding. Fortunately, this is one of those times when I know exactly what I am in the mood for.

How do you choose your next read? Do you ever had a hard time deciding?

My fall issue of Mystery Scene is looking well-read right now. There are quite a few new crime fiction novels out that sound appealing. And I am looking forward to diving into World Literature Today soon, which includes a feature about imprisoned writers.

On the book front, I am eager to start reading The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia. The novel is set in 1592 Prague. I also have been eying Joe Sacco's Palestine, which is a graphic novel. The author/artist is a journalist who spent a couple of months on the West Bank and shares his experiences there in his book.

I plan to begin Mark Bowden's Guests of the Ayatollah, The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam today. The author impressed me with his nonfiction book Black Hawk Down about the 1993 U.S. military operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, a book I initially thought I wouldn't like but ended up loving. It was quite compelling. Ever since, I have wanted to read more by Bowden. When My Friend Amy announced the 50 Books for our Times Project, I figured now was as good a time as any. Guests of the Ayatollah is a bit of a chunkster, and so I decided I might as well read it alongside a fiction book.

Speaking of chunksters, this past week I finished reading my third selection for the Chunkster Challenge, hosted by Dana. Another challenge completed. I chose the Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? option and committed to reading 3 books that were 450 or more pages long. Each of the books I chose for the challenge were quite different, including a Gothic classic, a nonfiction book and a fantasy novel.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - 635 pgs
Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham - 464 pgs
Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon (review pending) - 558 pgs

Tackling big fat books can be challenging all on its own. While many of my favorite books fall into the chunkster category, I confess that sometimes I pass the big book over for the shorter book. That's why challenges like the Chunkster Challenge can be such good motivation for breaking that habit. Many thanks to Dana for hosting the challenge!

How do you feel about reading chunksters?

I have not been good at resisting temptation lately, I'm afraid. Several books have made their way into my house in recent weeks. Most of the blame lays at your feet. If you didn't tempt me with such irresistible reading material I might have money to spare for those much needed new shoes.

Books I Bought:
The Caveman's Valentine
by George Dawe Green
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
The Séance by John Harwood
The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Kiss of the Spider Woman & Two Other Plays by Manuel Puig
Palestine by Joe Sacco
The Sky Isn't Visible From Here by Felicia Sullivan

Book Won in Giveaway:
The Way Home by George Pelecanos (Many thanks to Laura from I'm Booking It!)

What new books have come your way lately?



Kailana from The Written World and Marg from Reading Adventures are hosting the 4th annual Virtual Advent Tour. It's an opportunity for bloggers to write about a special holiday memory or tradition, share a favorite recipe or discuss a favorite holiday book or movie--whatever you want really. It doesn't matter whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice or another holiday. Stop by the website to sign-up for a day. The event runs from December 1st through the 24th. I had such fun when I participated in 2007 and look forward to being a part of the event this year.


© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Saturday, November 07, 2009

Confession of a Blogger: Do You Really Need to Know Why I Haven't Been Around?

Ti over at Book Chatter has a great feature in which she discusses an issue each Saturday that relates to reading or blog reading. This week she talks about being a cover snob. She also opens the floor to other bloggers who may wish to bring up questions or thoughts they may have. I had not intended to participate this week, but as I sit here, struggling with whether to write a blog post or not, I thought I might as well approach the topic with opening it up for discussion with you.

I am going through a bit of a slump right now. One of the reading and blogging variety. I settle down to read and I find myself immediately getting up to do something else. Doesn't matter what book it is. I've tried several. I sit myself in front of my computer to either write a blog post or visit all your wonderful blogs, and I end up doing something else entirely. I haven't even been staying on top of my television shows lately. They're piling up in the DVR as I write. Being sick with the flu certainly did not help. And then we had a little incident that required a middle of the night visit to the emergency room this past week (my husband's fine--stitches came out last night). Work has picked up considerably and I have been extra busy with that. Then there is . . . oh, but that's way too much information, isn't it? You get it. I have plenty of excuses as to why blogging and reading haven't been the biggest priorities in my life lately. (And I can hear a couple of you tsking me. If it was really important to me, I'd make the time no matter what. Yeah, yeah.)

You may think I am going to ask you what you do to pull yourself out of a slump, but I am not going to (although you are more than welcome to commiserate and offer suggestions if you want). I have been struggling with whether to write a post about why I am not blogging just now, or to just not post at all while I pull myself out of this. I feel guilty when I let my blog go too long without a post. I feel even more guilty when I am not able to visit my blog friends. My husband says I worry too much. Well, he hasn't actually said it, but I can tell he thinks it, especially when I lament about it over and over again.

My lapses in blogging do not last long and so perhaps letting you know I'm okay during those absences is unnecessary. You may not even notice, especially since they happen occasionally and so you have come to expect it. Other bloggers sometimes will post about their absences, be it health related or something fun. I don't mind at all. And I never mind when you talk about your busy lives or blogging and reading slumps--it's always nice to know I am not alone. Given that I think of many of you as my friends, I am interested in what is going on in your lives and like to offer my support when I can.

What are your thoughts about "why I haven't been blogging/reading" posts?


Note: I have had to stop several times while composing this post because my cats and dog demanded I give them some undivided attention and love. You try typing while you have a cat nudging your hands and another one trying to settle in on your chest while the dog decides it is time to put his front paws in your lap.


© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wordless Wednesday: Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara, New York

Hosted by Wordless Wednesday



© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Have You Signed Up for the Holiday Swap?


I am a sucker for gift exchanges. Receiving a package in the mail is a treat unlike any other. Not to mention how much I enjoy searching for that perfect something for someone else. I confess there is always a lot bit of stress over exactly what to get my person. What if the person hates my gift? I am not as crafty as many of you are. Heck, lets be honest. I'm not crafty or creative at all. I might be able to write you a poem but don't expect it to rhyme or make much sense. And there is something about giving and putting a smile on someone else's face that makes me happy.

I was quite excited then to hear about this year's Holiday Swap. For details and to sign up, simply visit the Holiday Swap website. The deadline to sign up is November 12th, so you better hurry! Participants will be assigned a Secret Santa who you will then be expected to give a gift to. Someone else will get your name and be sending you a gift. The gifts are meant to be simple and small, so not at all pricey (unless you really want to buy me that E-Reader device I've been eying--only kidding, I promise!). It's open to everyone worldwide, but for those who cannot ship internationally, that is okay too. If you request it, you can be assigned to someone in your own country.

What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Many thanks to this year's hosts: Amanda, Amy, Ana, Chris, Debi, Eva, Jill and Lenore!


© 2009, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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