Rating: 
Summary: So vivid I found it hard to breathe
Review: This book was so different from anything else I have read that it is almost hard to describe the feelings it invoked in me while I was reading. Alice Walker's use of eight different "narrators" had such a tremendous impact--pointing out how one action can affect and connect SO many people. The use of these narrators also created a "layering" affect on the plot development--each with a personal twist. The story questioned so many important issues in society today dealing with the preservation of ethnic culture, and where to draw "lines" concerning these issues. It is quite possibly the most artistically constructed piece of literature I have read--and it was one I would recommend highly, but it was also so packed with emotion that I found it hard to continue reading at points. I do feel, however, that Alice Walker did a marvelous job at relaying this story--and it is horrific and hard to deal with--so in truth, finding it "hard to breathe" was probably a reaction one could expect.
Rating: 
Summary: A shocking, yet truthful book
Review: This is the first book that I've read by Alice Walker and I walked away from it very impressed. I've always been fascinated with other cultures and was drawn to the subject of genital mutilation in Africa. I've always found this to be a shocking and controversial topic whenever I've heard it discussed. This book is the story of Tashi and her husband Adam and some surrounding friends of theirs. Tashi suffers horribly from her past experiences with the mutilation ceremonies. I found Walker's account to be heart wrenching and brutally honest. One can only imagine the emotional and psychological effects of such a traumatic procedure. The book itself is a gem. The story unfolds a small piece at a time, like a secret being whispered to you. It all fits together wonderfully and forms a thought-provoking tale.
Rating:
Summary: SECRET'S FOUND
Review: When I first started reading this book, the first thing that caugth my eye was the stlye of writing. Every couple of pages Alice Walker would change the speaker and would headline the section with the name of the person talking. The book was about one women and her struggle with her african heritage and trying to find her self and the "secrets of joy". This book seems familar to another book of her's that I have read called "The Color Purple" which also about the struggle of one women and her society. The reading was interesting and I enjoyed the way she wrote the book because I could the view's of everyone in the story. But sometimes it would get confusing and I would lose the idea. Overall the book would go up and down, but in the end the story came together and left a good imprint.
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