
A provocative novel about an African tribal woman's battle with madness after the trauma of a childhood genital mutilation.
Publisher:
San Diego, CA : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
Edition:
1st ed.
ISBN:
9780151731527
0151731527
0151731527
Branch Call Number:
WALK
Characteristics:
286p.; 25 cm.



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Add a CommentProfound. Moving. Beautifully written.
Alice Walker is one of my favorite writers. Her writing style calls to mind the surprising phrase "complex simplicity." This book is a good example of complex simplicity: it is a quick read at under 300 pages, yet it is so poetic and so thought-provoking.
I first read Possessing the Secret of Joy when it came out in the 1990's, and I admired it for the light it shines on the traumatizing, yet culturally ingrained, practice of FGM. Now, 25 years later, FGM continues to make headlines in the news, and this novel remains relevant.