The Kid, Sapphire
The Kid, Sapphire
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The Kid

Author: Sapphire

Narrator: Sapphire

Unabridged: 13 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 07/05/2011

Synopsis

Fifteen years after the publication of Push, one year after the Academy Award-winning film adaptation, Sapphire gives voice to Precious's son, Abdul. In The Kid bestselling author Sapphire tells the electrifying story of Abdul Jones, the son of Push's unforgettable heroine, Precious.A story of body and spirit, rooted in the hungers of flesh and of the soul, The Kid brings us deep into the interior life of Abdul Jones. We meet him at age nine, on the day of his mother's funeral. Left alone to navigate a world in which love and hate sometimes hideously masquerade, forced to confront unspeakable violence, his history, and the dark corners of his own heart, Abdul claws his way toward adulthood and toward an identity he can stand behind.In a generational story that moves with the speed of thought from a Mississippi dirt farm to Harlem in its heyday; from a troubled Catholic orphanage to downtown artist's lofts, The Kid tells of a twenty- first-century young man's fight to find a way toward the future. A testament to the ferocity of the human spirit and the deep nourishing power of love and of art, The Kid chronicles a young man about to take flight. In the intimate, terrifying, and deeply alive story of Abdul's journey, we are witness to an artist's birth by fire.

About The Author

Sapphire is the author of American Dreams, a collection of poetry that was cited by Publishers Weekly as "one of the strongest debut collections of the nineties." Push, her novel, won the Book-of-the-Month Club's Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's First Novelist Award, and, in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Push was named by the Village Voice and Time Out New York as one of the top ten books of 1996. Push was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction. Push was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film, Precious. Sapphire's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Black Scholar, Spin, and Bomb. In February of 2007 Arizona State University presented PUSHing Boundaries, PUSHing Art: A Symposium on the Works of Sapphire. Sapphire's work has been translated into 11 languages and has been adapted for stage in the United States and Europe. Precious, the film adaption of her novel, won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Awards in the U.S. dramatic competition at Sundance (2009).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lori on October 09, 2011

It amazes me that many reviewers of this book are disappointed because this work isn't uplifting, hopeful, redeeming, etc. It further astounds me that readers feel as though The Kid "rapes the memory of Push". First, these are two separate books. Yes, there is a bond between them of Precious, but sh......more

Goodreads review by Misshaq on September 18, 2011

I have mixed feelings about this book but overall am going to give it a very good rating. Sapphire is a writer, she takes the reader through alot of emotions as we follow the hellish life of Precious son, Abdul. At the age of nine, Precious dies from HIV and life changes forever for her son. He goes......more

Goodreads review by Eris on July 02, 2011

I'm going to be completely honest here. This book needs to simmer for a while longer before it is published. The base story is incredible, the ride is harrowing - but it loses a lot of it's power in some of the scatter. Written in first person, as was "Push", you are taken right into the mind of her......more

Goodreads review by Sherril on March 29, 2012

Unfortunate this book has such a low rating. I think that's probably more due to the difficulty of the subject matter than the actual worth of the book. Going by my volunteer work for CASA with abused and neglected kids in our court system, this book is unfortunately very possible. Maybe unlikely th......more

Goodreads review by Kelly on August 12, 2011

I am forever scarred from reading this book. I have read many books in my life, but none have caused me so much pain, anguish, and terror as this one. I loved Push because despite the horror of Precious' life, the ending was uplifting and hopeful. This, book, however provides nothing but agony and d......more

Quotes

“[P]owerful… affecting and harrowing.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times 

“A devastating voice, demanding and raw . . . an accomplished work of art.”—The Los Angeles Times

“The breathtaking velocity and visceral power of her prose soars off the page…The Kid gives us a story and a narrative voice which, like his mother’s before him, should definitely be heard.”—The Guardian (UK)

“[Sapphire] remains fearlessly committed to telling uncomfortable truths… Like Push, The Kid is deeply moving and unflinching.”—Essence 

“The Kid’s unflinching authenticity makes it tough yet ultimately rewarding to read.”—People

"Steely-eyed, full-frontal daring."—Philadelphia Inquirer 

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