Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)
THE GROUNDBREAKING WORK FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE- WINNING AUTHOR
“Operatic, prophetic – and powerfully poetic.”
The New York Times Book Review
From the author the Washington Post calls “a writer of bold artistry,” this is the searing story of Tashi, a tribal African woman first glimpsed in The Color Purple, whose memory of her sister’s early death and whose fateful decision to submit to the tsunga’s knife and be genitally mutilated forever alter her existence. Narrated through an evocative chorus of voices, Possessing the Secret of Joy follows Tashi’s struggle to understand the forces of oppression that lead to her trauma, to access her own painful past (even seeking treatment from Carl Jung), and, eventually, to discover the secret of joy.
Possessing the Secret of Joy was the first novel to deal with this controversial topic and does so in a manner that Cosmopolitan called “masterful, honorable, and unforgettable storytelling.’ The New Press is proud to bring the book back into print with a new preface by the author addressing the book’s initial reception, and the changed attitudes toward female genital mutilation that have come about in part because of this important novel.
“As compelling as...The Color Purple.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“A remarkable novel...Walker has pulled off an amazing feat here: she’s written a powerful novel about brutal misogyny, and she’s made it both horrifying and readable, angry and warmhearted, political and human.”
Newsweek
“[One of] her most powerful works.”
The New York Times
“Extraordinarily courageous and chilling ... Walker’s remarkable compassion rings on every page, along with the most tender wit and evocative verbal music.”
Cosmopolitan
“Remarkable...superb fiction.”
The New York Daily News
