This is one gem of a book.
Sapphire, the celebrated author of “Push” — the inspiration for the Oscar-winning film “Precious” — is back with a new novel, 15 years after her explosive debut.
“The Kid” picks up more or less where her best-selling novel, about a Harlem teen who overcomes an abusive mother, obesity, HIV, and illiteracy, left off.
The kid in question is Precious’s 9-year-old son, Abdul Jones, to whom we’re introduced on the day of his mother’s funeral. Like “Push,” Sapphire’s new novel takes a first-person, free-form narrative, this time following Abdul through the foster care system and into adulthood, where he escapes, like his mother did with words, through dance. As to be suspected from the precedent set with “Push,” it’s not all pretty, and no reality too depressing is spared.
“Sapphire is a celebrated writer who has touched so many,” said Jason Carey of the Brooklyn Public Library, whose Central Branch will host the author on Aug. 15.
“We know the event will give readers a special perspective on her new novel.”
Sapphire at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Branch [Flatbush Avenue at Eastern Parkway in Grand Army Plaza in Park Slope, (718) 230-2100], Aug. 15 at 6:30 pm. Free. For info, visit www.brooklynpubliclibrary.com.
