Alice Walker - Possessing the Secret of Joy

Reading Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy was a most holy experience for me. Alas, this book had such an impact upon me that I made the book part of the subject of my senior capstone thesis when I was in college.Alice Walker is by far my favorite author (which is a great compliment because it is hard for me to choose many favorites)and since that magical experience I have gone on to read seven or eight more of her novels and a few of her volumes of poetry.

My experience with Possessing the Secret of Joy began when I was vacationing in Ireland my senior year of High School. One afternoon, I was very bored and I decided to walk to a used bookstore that was not far from my hotel to find something to read. My choice was between something by John Irving (who's The World According to Garp I loved) and Possessing. As I had just finished the Color Purple the summer before( I shamelessly hadn't read it until then) I had developed quite a liking for Alice's writing, especially since the film version of the Color Purple had already deeply resonated with me ever since my childhood--as I am sure it resonates with almost every Black person in the United States. So, with that in mind and also loving the deep purple jacket of the book, I decided to pick it up and make that my vacation reading.

I went back to my hotel room and began reading the book and slowly became engrossed in it. Skipping dinner to stay in my room and read further into the book, I was completely entranced and could not pull it away from my face except for to contemplate or pace the room. When I finally put the book down, it was four o'clock in the morning, dark outside my window and I had just turned the last page of the book, having finished it all. I then sat down in the armchair there in my room and wept until the sun came up.

Possessing the Secret of Joy is a novel that tells the story of Tashi, the wife of Adam from the Color Purple and the childhood friend of Olivia. In the film, we only come to know Tashi in the final scene when Nettie and the children arrive home to greet Celie. This novel explores the transformations of Tashi throughout her life as she moves from her native continent of Africa to living as an immigrant in the United States, and then returning home a different woman, all of these experiences colored and shaped by the traumatic experience of the death of her sister when she was a young girl. These experiences are played out through the different personas that she adopts: Tashi, Evelyn, Tashi-Evelyn, Mrs. Johnson, and Tashi-Evelyn-Mrs.Johnson-Soul.

This book deals powerfully with the dark and painful subject matter of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) and provides a most subtle and forceful critique of this inhumane and misogynistic practice that occurs all over the world. Tashi's story begins with her grappling with the effects of this practice and the damaging effect that it has had on her life.

There are several powerful characters in this book that aide Tashi in her journey. These include Olivia,her childhood friend, raised by missionaries and the daughter of Celie; Adam, the son of Celie, also raised by missionaries as well as Tashi's husband. I don't know, perhaps it is just my prejudice, but I was not at all too fond or even sympathetic towards Adam in this book. Something about him, perhaps his patronizing attitudes towards Tashi, totally turned me off. There is also, in this book, the most wonderful Lisette, the French woman who is Adam's mistress and who's character, I believe, Alice Walker based on the french philosopher Helene Cixous. Also crucial to the book are the characters of Mzee, the African midwife who is responsible for Tashi's sister's death and who also played a crucial role in the injury done to Tashi herself and the Swiss doctor who is Alice's personification of Carl Jung(imagine that!Only Alice could attempt such a feat as capsizing Jung into a single character).

Perhaps the most intriguing character in this book is that of Pierre, the son of Lisette and Adam. Walker's depiction of Pierre is such that if he were real, I would definitely want to meet him. His background as a biracial, bisexual male elaborates on Walker's play with the idea of the duality of nature(which is a concept that originates with Cixous) and the fluidity of sexuality. His relationship with Tashi is also one of the most magnificent bonds in the book.

Possessing the Secret of Joy is the most powerful novel that I have ever encountered. I could most definitely say that this is among Walker's strongest works. This book details a story of pain, suffering, and the discovery of the secret to life, happiness, and joy: Resistance. This book was a powerful experience for me, one that I will cherish for always. It is a magnificent gift to the world from the most powerful and gifted writer of our time.