Possessing the Secret of Joy

There are a lot of things I know that I cannot comment upon, as my lived experiences do not allow it. I want to acknowledge that.

I want to recognise what I really liked about it:

1. I adore the usage of multiple perspectives for the central character. You can tell that even her chapters are written in the multiple perspectives of her past and present self. You can see how her identity has changed, how she has changed, has she has grown and become who she is throughout the story (Tashi, Evelyn, Tashi-Evelyn, Evelyn-Tashi, and so on).

2. I like that Walker included chapters from the perspectives of Adam, Olivia, Benny, Pierre, Lisette, M'Lissa, and whichever other characters I forgot to include (perhaps Mzee and Mbati). I liked that these multiple perspectives did not take liberties to assume who Tashi was but to add further evidence from their experiences with her; they also framed aspects of Tashi's identity in ways like "I heard others talk about her this way, but I always saw her like this. Is that I'm correct or is it that others are?"

3. In a book published in 1992, I would never expect to find a mostly positive representation of bisexuality. I think that's also why I kind of latched onto Pierre, even for his faults. I mean, this is one of the few times I've ever seen a book use the actual word. I almost never see it, and that impacts me a lot as a bisexual woman.

4. Glimmers of questioning tradition. The relationship of Tashi/Adam/Lisette, for instance.