Alice Walker - Possessing the Secret of Joy

Alice Walker is known for powerful prose which challenges us all to face the effects of our world?s racism and sexism head-on. In Walker?s renditions, we cannot avoid seeing the humanity in the victims of slavery, domestic violence, and other racist and sexist abuses, nor will we find it easy to draw clear distinctions between our own lives and the far less privileged lives Walker lays out before us. In Possessing the Secret of Joy, she accomplishes this task with a vengeance, presenting us with a riveting, horrifying, but ultimately hopeful portrait of the practice and consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa.

The novel presents the story of Tashi, an African woman who underwent FGM, and the resulting emotional and physical consequences she dealt with over the years. Tashi was profoundly affected by the surgery, and when we meet her, she has spent decades tormented by her memories and blocking much of the pain out of her conscious awareness. The story proceeds through very brief sections (usually one to four pages each) from the perspective of various people in Tashi?s life: most prominently, Tashi herself and her African-American husband Adam, but also others I will not reveal in order to avoid revealing plot developments. We gradually get to know Tashi both through her own and others? eyes as she deals with her emotional pain and works to reclaim her soul. At the same time, we begin to understand how Tashi?s experience of FGM affects other people in her life.

Walker?s writing is always compelling, and Possessing the Secret of Joy is no exception. She offers us wonderful, startling imagery and renders very real and well-developed characters. The fact that we can get to know each character from their own perspectives as well as through the perceptions of others, in their own distinct voice as well as the voices of others, makes every character, even the minor ones and even those characters we might not expect to like, rich and sympathetic.

And beyond providing us with a rich emotional and interpersonal drama, Walker educates us. We learn about the practice and effects of FGM, including the complexities involved in its cultural meanings and women?s roles as simultaneous victims, organizers, and executors of the practice. We learn about colonialism, particularly about the presence of missionaries and colonial leaders and its effect on African culture and African people like Tashi. We learn about a few of the varieties of FGM that have been practiced in Africa as well as hints of how some Africans feel about the practice. As someone who has studied FGM in an academic setting, I can say that these historical details are quite accurate; what amazes me is Walker's ability to weave them into the narrative without producing the long, dull passages with which most authors clutter their historical novels.

But most of all, we learn in Possessing the Secret of Joy about personal journeys and human strength, not only Tashi?s but also Adam?s. What is most skillful in Walker?s writing is the way she conveys all of these lessons and insights to her readers without making an overt political message stand out apart from the story. Nonetheless, the message comes through loud and clear despite its relative subtlety.

This is an upsetting book because it deals with such a horrible topic, but despite its subject matter, I consider it to be my favorite book. I am in awe of Walker?s power as a writer, and I will never forget the powerful images of Tashi?s story. There is one image in the text, in fact, that is so powerful that even years after reading it, the shocking and profoundly telling image often comes to my mind. I recommend this book to everyone; it is difficult to read because it is so emotional, but it should be upsetting, and we should all have to face these realities of our world. Perhaps along the way we will be inspired to stop them.

[Note: Possessing the Secret of Joy is actually a sequel to Walker's earlier novel, The Color Purple. While it is interesting to follow the characters through the "series," however, both novels stand alone, and the reader will not have problems following the later narrative without having read the earlier one. It is worth noting that The Color Purple will provide more historical context for the events in Possessing the Secret of Joy and will help to make the circumstances surrounding Tashi?s FGM more explicable. Again, however, the first book is not necessary reading in order to understand the latter.]