Precious: A True Story
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Review
A beautiful, haunting new Dickensian tale of growing up between two mothers and two motherlands, each making suffocating claims on a girl who I would have liked to call a friend. I'm so happy to have PRECIOUS now, reaching out over the years and the pond! --Catherine McKinley, author of THE BOOK OF SARAHS
"Brilliant, poetic, sensitive. A brave excavation of life for 'looked-after' African children in post-war, nationalistic Britain." Kriss Akabussi --Kriss Akabussi
"Raw, honest, heartbreaking and heart-warming, "Precious: A True Story" will linger in your soul long after the book is closed, reminding us all that there is nothing more powerful on earth than the human spirit." --Donna Hill, author of "What Mother Never Told Me"
'Powerful and arresting memoir' --The Bookseller
''Precious' is an extraordinary book. Alternately alarming and funny, always spare and beautifully crafted, this is a testament to the internal exile of subordinated social groups that no reader should miss.' --Denise Mina, author of 'The Dead Hour'
'An affecting memoir...' --Kirkus Reviews
'Precious' is an achingly beautiful triumph of will that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful.' -- Lolita Files, author of 'Child of God'
'Precious Williams is a vibrant, deliciously alive storyteller. With
attention to the choice incandescent detail, she holds the reader in
passionate immediacy of the moment. 'Precious' is an
unforgettable story of outrageous humor, heartbreak, and transcendence.'
--Lisa Teasley, author of 'Dive'
"Williams offers an English journalist's wry, charming memoir of being a black Nigerian girl growing up in a 1970s white foster home in a village of West Sussex, England...Her beautifully wrought memoir reaches back deeply and generously to regain the preciousness she felt lost to her." --Publishers Weekly
'Precious Williams' brave examination of identity and loss reminds us that by going into the heart of what we are most afraid of, we find our liberation.' -- Eve Ensler, creator of the Vagina Monologues
'Recounts how this London-born daughter of a Nigerian princess came to be raised by an elderly white woman on an English housing project.'
--Elle Magazine (US) "Recommended Read" for August 2010
'Astonishingly, there is little bitterness here: Williams's writing is accomplished -- pacey yet carefully spare, so that sadness and anger hover over her narrative rather than suffocate it. Such is the vividness of her characters and dialogue that, having unburdened herself, Williams now might choose -- with the promise of some success -- to turn her back on her day job as a journalist and find a powerful new voice by making the leap into fiction.' -- The Sunday Times
'Gorgeously written with a fiercely honest voice. Williams will grow up [to become] Precious, "the writer, the grown woman..." How she gets there is a serpentine road that's as shatteringly moving as it is incredible. This book is not so much a coming-of-age story as a harrowing coming-to-be tale.' --The Boston Globe --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"Brilliant, poetic, sensitive. A brave excavation of life for 'looked-after' African children in post-war, nationalistic Britain." Kriss Akabussi --Kriss Akabussi
"Raw, honest, heartbreaking and heart-warming, "Precious: A True Story" will linger in your soul long after the book is closed, reminding us all that there is nothing more powerful on earth than the human spirit." --Donna Hill, author of "What Mother Never Told Me"
'Powerful and arresting memoir' --The Bookseller
''Precious' is an extraordinary book. Alternately alarming and funny, always spare and beautifully crafted, this is a testament to the internal exile of subordinated social groups that no reader should miss.' --Denise Mina, author of 'The Dead Hour'
'An affecting memoir...' --Kirkus Reviews
'Precious' is an achingly beautiful triumph of will that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful.' -- Lolita Files, author of 'Child of God'
'Precious Williams is a vibrant, deliciously alive storyteller. With
attention to the choice incandescent detail, she holds the reader in
passionate immediacy of the moment. 'Precious' is an
unforgettable story of outrageous humor, heartbreak, and transcendence.'
--Lisa Teasley, author of 'Dive'
"Williams offers an English journalist's wry, charming memoir of being a black Nigerian girl growing up in a 1970s white foster home in a village of West Sussex, England...Her beautifully wrought memoir reaches back deeply and generously to regain the preciousness she felt lost to her." --Publishers Weekly
'Precious Williams' brave examination of identity and loss reminds us that by going into the heart of what we are most afraid of, we find our liberation.' -- Eve Ensler, creator of the Vagina Monologues
'Recounts how this London-born daughter of a Nigerian princess came to be raised by an elderly white woman on an English housing project.'
--Elle Magazine (US) "Recommended Read" for August 2010
'Astonishingly, there is little bitterness here: Williams's writing is accomplished -- pacey yet carefully spare, so that sadness and anger hover over her narrative rather than suffocate it. Such is the vividness of her characters and dialogue that, having unburdened herself, Williams now might choose -- with the promise of some success -- to turn her back on her day job as a journalist and find a powerful new voice by making the leap into fiction.' -- The Sunday Times
'Gorgeously written with a fiercely honest voice. Williams will grow up [to become] Precious, "the writer, the grown woman..." How she gets there is a serpentine road that's as shatteringly moving as it is incredible. This book is not so much a coming-of-age story as a harrowing coming-to-be tale.' --The Boston Globe --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
'William's writing is accomplished - pacey yet carefully spare, so that sadness and anger hover over her narrative rather than suffocate it' Sunday Times 'A beautifully-written, fresh and brave debut' Harpers' Bazaar 'Gorgeously written with a fiercely honest voice' Boston Globe
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you want to read a true account of multi-racial fostering, and the issues it raises about identity in 1970s England, then this is the book for you. Looking back at this time with a modern eye, it seems almost unbelievable how Precious was treated as a young girl - as she is placed in situations where 'love' is a precious commodity indeed. What emerges is a strong woman with the courage to make something of her life, despite the hindrance of her natural birth mother and the trauma of her being fostered unto people, with little or no knowledge of black people in general. All in all this was a worthy, essential book for anyone wishing to understand how children suffered at the hands of our child protection agencies.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Hilarious anecdotes sit next to heartbreaking moments when you will be moved to tears. Precious has written an inspirational book about the will to survive and find her own identity. Impressive in the face of adversity.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a gripping memoir about growing up black in West Sussex. Reading it made me want to weep and then laugh. I was never bored, never indifferent to the story I was reading. It absorbed me completely. Above all, it's a well written account of the triumph of character over circumstance. Very poignant indeed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A story of triumph against many odds
Precious: A True Story is a great read; a coming of age memoir which explores racial and cultural identity and challenges our notions and understanding of family. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mellow
Precious: A true story
I first came across the book "Precious" at a book reading event where the author read an excerpt from the book. After which I thought I must get a copy. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Idd419
Precious: A True Story
I loved this book and read it very quickly, as I was so interested in what happened to this little girl. It is a very raw and honest memoir of Precious life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by carly
Precious is Precious
Her personal story transcends beyond touching those who can relate and those who empathise, as within lies qualitative data. Read more
Published 6 months ago by LisaB111
rubbish
one of the worst books ever published - read one chapter and put it in the bin - dont waste your money on this.
Published 6 months ago by Robin White
Fabulous and a good read
Once I started reading the book, I could not lay it down. An interesting insight into Precious' life and I feel like I grew up with her. Looking forward to the next book. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mletkay
A brilliant read!
What an excellent read! This was an easy to read page turner and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. A true life story about the issues of inter-cultural fostering and Precious'... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Anthea J
Open, honest and sincere!
Exploring issues of race, identity, maternal love and cross cultural adoption Precious deals with so many diffucult issues in this memoir. Read more
Published 19 months ago by JJ
aide memoire on parenting
the book was really a how not to parent or how not to care - what parents should really do :
Precious looks at her past and pulls no punches and in os demonstrates who the... Read more
Precious looks at her past and pulls no punches and in os demonstrates who the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Bolaji Laurance
review of "Precious" by Precious Williams
The book "Precious" is an excellent read. It is an interesting true story, about an African girl who is brought up by white foster parents in West Sussex in the 1970s and early... Read more
Published 20 months ago by NSá
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