BOOK REVIEW
Overflowing with rage, redeemed through art, he's the son of Precious
- Published: 18/07/2011 at 02:56 AM
- Newspaper section: Life
The Kid, the title character in Sapphire's unsettling new novel, is an orphan, an aspiring dancer, an abused child and a violent offender. After being tossed out of school for sexually assaulting another student, he begins a series of peregrinations around the island of Manhattan in search of a self and a vocation.
THE KID By Sapphire 373 pages. The Penguin Press. $25.95. Available online.
The Kid, aka Abdul Jamal Louis Jones, happens to be the son of Precious, the long-suffering heroine of Sapphire's 1996 debut novel, Push (later made into the acclaimed film Precious), but he bears less of a resemblance to his mother than to the rage-filled teenager depicted in Sapphire's controversial poem Wild Thing, which was inspired by the 1989 beating and rape of a Central Park jogger. The poem, which included a reference to Jesus and oral sex, appeared in an obscure magazine that received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and it was cited by conservative critics as part of a campaign that led to the dismissal of John E. Frohnmayer as chairman of the endowment in 1992.
This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.
About the author
- Writer: Michiko Kakutani
