This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, July 11, 2011 - No spoiler alert here: Precious dies on page one in Sapphire's new novel, "The Kid."
The book follows Precious' son, Abdul, through his own hell in foster care from ages 9 through 18, where he endures both physical and sexual abuse. These horrors become a part of him, one that he takes out on others.
Ultimately, Abdul must make a life-changing choice.
Lee Daniels' film "Precious" made famous Sapphire's then-13-year-old novel, "Push." The success of the film, graphically illustrating violence, despair and suspicion in an inner-city African-American family, inspired Sapphire to complete her second book. "The Kid" is being released today.
The Beacon talked with Sapphire about her desire to explain the story behind the story in tragic lives. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you see as the differences and similarities between the two books?
Sapphire: It's not really a sequel other than it looks at some of the conditions that existed in the society that created Precious. But we're in the head of a boy -- this is boys' town.
In "Push," there were times when the social issues became bigger than Precious, but in this text, Abdul is such a massive and intense character that he swallows the social issues.
He's a victimizer, a Tiger Woods, an Anthony Wiener, whatever. He's a really good person, but many things have happened to him, and he can do some bad things. We have to take all that into our perspective and make a bigger picture. We do love this boy when we start reading about him, but we love a boy who's not always lovable.
In "Push," we looked at the victimization of Precious and her triumph over it. Here we also have an opportunity to see a character triumph in "The Kid," with his becoming an artist, a dancer. Abdul is tall, handsome, dark; he's out there. Where her body was a source of ridicule, his is a source of pride.
What about the other characters in "Push"?
Sapphire: The person who survives in the story is the great-grandmother -- remember Tootsie who was raising [Precious' daughter] Li'l Mongo? In chapter two, Abdul has a meeting with her and she tells him his story and what happened to Li'l Mongo and [Precious' mother] Mary, what happened to her way back in in Mississippi, why they had such a hard time in New York.
He gets an understanding of his family, and he understands he's the end of the line, that it's up to him to do something beautiful, that Precious never had a chance, the grandmother never had a chance, Li'l Mongo never had a chance and it's up to him.
Do you envision a movie of "The Kid?"
Sapphire: I can see a lot about it that wouldn't work as a movie. It would seem like it would take a lot of dummying down or censorship to make it in today's movie culture.
We are not getting more liberal as to what we can see and hear. We can spend hours and hours with tabloid trash, but when we really want to go into psychological and cultural analysis of violence and sexuality, all of sudden that becomes taboo because that would cause us to think and to begin to question some of the people who are leading us and how our money is being spent and how our foster-care systems are being run -- things we've never questioned for a hundred goddamned years.
Did the 2009 movie based on "Push" prompt you to write "The Kid"?
Sapphire: I started writing "The Kid" in late 1990s, early 2000s. But it was on the back burner. I published a book of poetry, I was teaching, I was on the university circuit. But when the movie came out it was like, if there was ever a time, now's the time to finish this book.
What do you hope readers will take away from the "The Kid"?
Sapphire: I want people to begin to look at some of the situations they're confronted with in the news and gossip columns. What's the backstory? What's the backstory to why a 13-year-old commits suicide, to why an 11-year-old would try to hurt an 8-year-old? You think there's some sort of biological determinism that causes them to do this?
No.
My artistic quest is to give the backstory, and in doing that, I hope to give some hope and light to the situation.
