Name: The Color Purple
ISBN: 9780143135692

Alice Walker

A modern classic whose influence can still be felt in contemporary literature, Walker's searing exploration of both white racism and violent Black patriarchy in the first half of the twentieth century is a uniquely powerful reading experience.
'The great irony about The Color Purple is that it transcends colour. To do that you have to be a magician or a genius... Not a word is wasted, every breath accounted for. We all know that this is one of the greatest books of all time.' - Benjamin Zephaniah

The classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name.

Set in the deep American South between the wars, The Color Purple is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation.

Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage.

But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.

A Novel

The Color Purple

Eli Alvah Huckabee

Helen 

I feel bad sometime Nettie done pass me in learnin. But look like nothing she say can git in my brain and try to tell me something bout the ground not being flat. I just say, Yeah, like I know it. I never tell her how flat it look to me. stay. 

But she keep on. You got to fight. You got to fight. 

But I don't know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive.

But I had also parsed ths there was something powerful about blondness, thinness flatness, and gaps between thighs. And that power was the context against which all others defined themselves. That was beauty. And while few young women in high school could say they felt like they lived up to beauty, only the non- white girls could never be beautiful. That is because beauty isn't actually what you look like; beauty is the preferences that reproduce the existing social order. 

Did I mention my first sight of the African coast? Something struck in me, in my soul, Celie, like a large bell, and I just vibrated. Corrine and Samuel felt the same. And we kneeled down right on deck and gave thanks to God for letting us see the land for which our mothers and fathers cried and lived and died– to see again. 

Oh, Celie! Will I ever be able to tell you all? I dare not ask, I know. But leave it all to God. 

The children saw the change in us immediately. I'm afraid my dear, we were radiant. 

You may have guessed that I loved him all along; but I did not know it. Oh, I loved him as a brother and respected him as a friend, but Celie, I love him bodily, as a man! I love his walk, his size, his shape, his smell, the kinkiness of his hair. I love the very texture of his palms. The pink of his inner lip. I love his big nose. I love his brows. I love his feet. And I love his dear eyes in which the vulnerability and beauty of his soul can be plainly read.

Just because I came back with you, don't think I am saying yes to marriage, says Tashi. 

Oh yes you are, says Adamn, heatedly, but through a yawn. You promised your mother. I promised your mother.

Nobody in America will like me, says Tashi.  

I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ast. And that in wondering bout the big things and asting bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, he say, the more I love.

eileen lee

When it come to what folks do together with they bodies, he say, anybody's guess is as good as mine. But when you talk bout love I don't have to guess. I have love and I have been love.

Yes, Celie, she say. Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. You ever notice that trees do everything to git attention we do, except walk?

Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God.

MianXTZ

Sweet, sad, and overall eye opening. Ceilie goes through so much and I love having her perspective on her treatment and the treatment of the people around her. Having Nettie’s perspective from Africa was unique. I can’t say that it was a fun read though. Parts were very difficult to hear. 

Kristen Savage

I came downstairs today expecting to read 20 pages and then I had to finish it. Absolutely broke my heart in the best way EVERYONE should read it.

Emilie Fournier

ellie🤍

A book everyone should read at least once. Such a unique way of storytelling. The balance between heaviness and lightness is incredible. This book talks about some really hard topics, but also some really incredible ones as well. 

Paige Leitner

Wow. Just wow. 

A book everyone should read at least once. Such a unique way of storytelling. The balance between heaviness and lightness is incredible. This book talks about some really hard topics, but also some really incredible ones as well. 

Would absolutely recommend.

It was a much needed read, even if it was hard at times to do so. The way it was narrated was very unique and you could tell the development of the story and protagonist.

Tsu 💙

Grace Edwards

The classic, PULITZER PRIZE-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name. Set in the deep American South between the wars, THE COLOR PURPLE is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves. 'One of the most haunting books you could ever wish to read ... it is stunning - moving, exciting, and wonderful' Lenny Henry

Amelia C 

kalenga 

solid 4.5 stars.

it was raw and blunt, emotional and hard to read at times but it was filled with so much passion and strength. highly recommend.

Marz 

It feels weird to give this book a rating or even to condense my thoughts into a single review, but I want to atleast try. 

The color purple is a really important piece of historical fiction. It earnestly shares the experience of black women, their dreams, their thoughts, their ideas and their battles and their understanding of their identities. I found reading about all the different perspectives through Celie fascinating. I think this book celebrates the resilience of these women and also the diversity of their thoughts. I'm found of all the female characters in this book, they are so unique and distinct in their own way. 

While this is obviously a very sorrowful book, I think it's also a book that celebrates love, and power relationships hold. Reading it I reflected a lot upon how we as people can uplift and support each other. The discussion of faith is also one worth reading. 

Overall I think this book deserves its spot as a modern classic, the language is accessible but none of the themes or ideas are simplified rather they are showcased in their full complexity. As the new movie comes out I hope people turn to the source material and experience this book for all it has to give.

Amira 

** spoiler alert **
           I got about 70-80% through this book and I couldn’t even continue… dude. I came into this thinking it’d be as good as the other classics I’ve read recently (Jane Eyre, animal farm, blind owl, etc.) but instead I was served something that had so much potential when it came to the topics it wanted to discuss. Black women. Specifically, the way black women are treated by others, whether it be by black men, white men, white women and even themselves. It’s about abuse upon abuse upon abuse, and while I do have a hard time reading about SA, I was willing to put that aside to read this book. Let’s make one thing straight, when I came into this book, I was expecting one of the two things, a lesson or to relate in some way. I didn’t get either. I don’t know if this is my fault, expecting something the author wasn’t trying to deliver in the first place but, in all honesty, the author is trying to say something. It may not be a lesson, it may not be teaching me something, it may not even be relatable, but there’s still a message. I, however, do not fully agree with some of the messages and, even with the bits of the messaging I do agree with, I feel like it was done sloppily. Let’s get the parts I agree with out of the way. I agreed with and found Celie's story, as an idea that is, very interesting and something I wanted to hear and read about. We’re always given the story of a black person harmed by white people but it’s also interesting to see how black people harm each other, how we’ve dealt harm to one another based off of other societal positions we are a part of (aka a black man may be black but he’s still a man, how does this affect the way he treats black women, especially if he’s taught to be abusive? And how much of what white society has taught us about black masculinity, it's supposed inherent rage, anger, and terror, how much of that affects black men? What happens when patriarchy mixes with racism?) the topic being about Celies abuse by her own people and how gender plays a part when it comes to Celies abuse is intriguing. Black women have been talking about this for ages! When I read it, I said, finally! Finally, there's a book about this but when I got to the book, I was left disappointed. The writing, though I want to make it known that I don't mind the dialect this was written in, was so lackluster. the characters would interact and then move on. plot points would happen, and I'd be left unmoved. I couldn't wrap my mind around it for a while, but I think, if I were to explain it, it's that I felt bad for the character but didn't care for the character all too much. Celie was a woman going through abuse upon abuse and her traits were that of an abused woman, but we barely see anything outside of that. when she slowly starts to discover Mister hiding the letters Nettie sent her, we see her change, but it isn't subtle. I was expecting a change in her with Shug Avery, seeing she's the love of Celies life (which baffles me). I understand her situation, having your sister be chased by the man you married, who abuses you left and right, right and left, saying she'll write, never writes, getting abused more by the man you married, then boom! the letters of her in Africa as a missionary worker come about! I'd be pissed too. but this isn't about whether or not I'd be pissed, it's more about narrative. A slow boiling of anger is what I expected with a book like this but there was just a switch turned on to Celie's anger, none boiling in the background. it could have been such a statement on anger, on black women's anger, their right to it, but it felt quick too quick. I did not hate everything though. 'Until you do right by me, everything you even dream of will fail' was a beautiful quote and when it came to the theme of the story hit well. 

Now, to the part of the story that irked me the most. The Africans. it baffles me that there aren't more comments speaking about how horribly they were written. I'll preface this by saying that I didn't finish the full book, I couldn't continue reading something I disliked so much. Again, I hit you with a "the ideas are interesting but the way it was done was off". The idea of moving farther and farther from the south, seeing the Harlem renaissance and its obvious connection to Africa was beyond intriguing. Nettie was a character who was naturally curious and inquisitive and so she acted as an extension of the reader in the book trying to figure out the themes of the story by quite literally living it. she then goes to England, different from white Americans because they find Africans interesting! but similar to white Americans because they look down on us. There's a clash in perspectives. the Harlem renaissance and it's light and hope with how it saw Africa (Ethiopia, Egypt) and Britain which has closer ties to these African countries but is ultimately exploiting them. Automatically the premise is interesting but then we enter Liberia. In simple terms, this books depictions of the fictional 'Olinka tribe' was bad. I have become one of the people who think this book does black people, particularly Africans, dirty. so, so dirty. I think constantly worrying about black people being perfect is stupid and is its own racist, double standard. however, this did black people so dirty. The story doesn't give depth or even care to give nuance to the African people they are talking about. Disagreeing with the way the men and woman reinforce their gender roles, ideas of education and who gains it (though the fact that the women pushed their girls towards education once their land was taken was really interesting and realistic to me) isn’t the same as making them so simple and one note. I disagree with plenty African cultures; I disagree with my own practices often (And what does African even mean btw? 54 countries and let's not even get into all the ethnic groups and more minute ways of describing yourself.) The only African character with the slightest bit of a personality was Tashi who is the one African who prefers western ways of thinking. She is also, so far, the only African with a name! so that's great. This western way of thinking, by the way, was brought to them via missionaries! so that’s ALSO great!!! (this is sarcasm if you couldn’t tell). We don’t see them fighting, they are at the mercy of the whites, and it seems like they are painted, so far, as backwards and hardheaded and if they only, only listened to Nettie. I am not saying you cannot disagree with them, the whole premise of this is the idea of Africa as a whole and how it is perceived by black Americans, the culture shock of it and the differing values people may have but you can acknowledge this and make people human. to also, walk your way into a culture and not find one thing that opens your eyes? I find that baffling and a little unbelievable. oh, and they sold some lady to slavery! SO YEAH!! If my research is correct, slavery ended at different times for different countries, but the shipment of slaves ended way before the book takes place. The historical inaccuracies don’t just end there though, if I’m correct, she gives Senegal a black president who rules the black people alongside the British. This never happened because the Senegalese were busy being oppressed by the French. It felt to me that she may have been writing Senegal from a mixture of a modern but also vintage perspective, a black leader who looks down on black people for the preference of whites is a problem today but there were also British colonizers, which was odd because Senegal was under French rule… it felt like a Mismash of multiple false timelines that made zero sense, prodding at you to try and say something deep and thoughtful but I was more worried about the inaccuracies and what it says about the authors understanding of Africa and how she thought colonization worked. It was concerning that we don't see, so far, rebellion, small or big. and when we see rebellion, it seems undermined from, so far, the stupidity of the Africans, “we’ll fight them with guns” “we don't have guns” “we’ll find a way” as if, at least from my understanding of Kenya and Somalia, guns weren't used by that time, aka the 1990’s to 1940’s. also, where are the other tribes, they helped each other out? It added to this sense of... stupidity to the tribe because we see them partake in a trade with another tribe and speak that tribe's language yet never contacts them to fight alongside them against the colonizers which as common in Africa at the time. Also, Liberia was not being colonized by European white folks at this time, it was under the American Colonization society who I’m pretty sure they were fighting back against since they were sending African Americans back on their land under U.S rule and trying to make them Christian. (though this may have been in the 1800s, I need to read on it more). From what I’ve seen, white people from the states did not treat the natives all too well and saw colonizing these people as a social justice and with all the people migrating to Liberia, there was a huge morality rate for African Americans (we see a little of this with a death of a character). so, to get a story like this, with missionaries, native folks and African Americans and then make it so the natives are all dumb and simple minded (sorry for the crude language) and to have Tashi return to the U.S… get married to an American man (though he is black), while acting like it’s pan-Africanist is beyond bizarre to me. I’m not saying Tashi shouldn't have left, it is realistic considering the circumstances she was in but with the lack of cultural depth for the fictional Olinka tribe I had this sense that Alice walker had such a deep-seated superiority or better put this feeling of aloofness for these fictional Africans. It felt like she felt for them because white people treated them bad and not because they were people, you cannot be pan-African and not see indigenous Africans as humans worthy of the simple respect of being fleshed out, and how can you be pan-African if you don't choose to highlight a specific tribe? Did I tell you they were fictional? they’re fictional. She couldn’t even tell you a specific type of ethnic group that lives in Liberia, whether it be to hold offense (though it is plenty offensive) or because she wasn’t interested. Or, if I'm correct, to make an amalgamation of 'African' cultures to act as a metaphor for Africa (a continent) itself. I hope you see why that would be a problem, making Africa into one big fictional tribe and commenting on it is too simple and, I lowkey couldn't take it seriously.

As a whole this book could've been amazing, but it was... not even sloppy but cold and messy. all the right ingredients but left to rot in the fridge. it shocks me not many people talk about how meh this book is but what can do. 2 stars.

Bella Baxter

Sarah Sammis

The Color Purple is one of those books I've been avoiding reading since it was first published (even though it earned the Pulitzer in 1983). I remember all the controversy surrounding it. As I was ten at the time, I felt the book wasn't for me. Although more than twenty years has passed, the negative feelings had remained. Through BookCrossing, I ended up with three copies of the book. I figured that the book muses were trying to tell me something and I decided to finally read it for the "Unread Authors Challenge."

Celie's vernacular takes some getting used to. It is an epistletory novel in the letters between sisters Celie and Nettie. Celie recounts years of abuse and an unhappy marriage. Walker spares nothing, beginning with the first time Celie is raped by her father and goes on from there in very frank but not crude language.

Were The Color Purple just Celie's roughly written diary (in the form of letters to God), it would have been a run of the mill coming of age story. Nettie though brings hope and the chance of escape for Celie. Celie's language and self esteem both improve with each letter to and from Nettie.

Vicky  Nuñez 

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2017 - A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you. 5/52 

The Color Purple is a wonderful portrayal of the struggle of black women during the 1930s. It is raw and does not hide from the cold truth, but embraces it. 
It is written in a series of letters, and the language is the one Celie uses, so it is a bit difficult to get into the story smoothly, but once you do you are trapped by the story of two sisters and the unfortunate paths they were given in life.

It is compelling and inspirational at times, but it was also sad and harsh. 
But I think it is important to read and have a notion of what women went through. I really enjoyed it and think it is one of those books everyone should read at least once.

Ana Luiza

Livro lindo, encantador, educativo, e sofrido de ler. Deveria ser leitura obrigatória nas escolas. Nunca aprendi tanto sobre a vida, sobre história e sobre religião com um livro.
O começo foi muito difícil de ser lido, a vida da mulher preta e pobre nunca foi fácil e a gente parece esquecer do quão difícil é até sermos confrontados com uma história assim. Que bate na nossa cara sem dó.
Celie é maravilhosa. Shug também, e Nettie. Sofia e todas as mulheres tão fortes desse livro. Até o Albert ficou gente boa, e o Harpo.
Eu aprendi tanto sobre cultura africana, sobre verdadeira história dos estados unidos e sobre Deus. A religião é tratada de uma maneira tão linda no final.
Leitura muito comovente e necessária. Espero que um dia estórias sobre racismo e todo esse sofrimento não passem disso: estórias.

Francesca Starecheski

Life in its purest, most anguished and most vibrant, life in all its forms and love in and between every line. My favorite book of all time.

Laura Mauler

This is one of the most amazing books I've ever read.

My thought: Letter to God. When I skimmed through the pages of The Color Purple and found letters of this epistolary novel starting with Dear God, I decided to give it a read without even reading the synopsis. It left a mark of strength, independence and love in my heart. The main character Celie, is an African-American living in her parents house in 1980. She takes the reader through her journey of introspection and freedom from her dark past. There is so much to talk about. Some sensitive topics have been picked upon in this novel. 

Celie is the victim and her escape from this world of suffering is no easy task. She is surrounded by men who only seek service and pleasure from her. However, suppression and suffering at her parents and then her husband’s hands is what brings her to the edge of standing for herself with the support of Shug Avery. Now she is one of the strongest characters I find in the book. The book not only talks about how the Black were struggling in the public and private households in holding their position and taking decisions for themselves but also shows us the passions and desires these women hold in the world where they are only seen as an object of pleasure and only to be seen with household chores. Men here have the upper hand and they pretty well make sure of this in the whole novel. BUT, Shug Avery, is the woman who shaped her path clear in the obstacles laid by the men dominated society. 

"Shug act more manly than most men . . . he say. You know Shug will fight, he say. Just like Sofia. She bound to live her life and be herself no matter what."

She enters the book as a companion, friend, balm and inspiration for Celie. She is the healing support system for Celie. The relationship between women in this novel holds a strong place. Some female relationships are motherly, some are friendly, some sisterly whereas some sexual. From the beginning of the mention of Shug's name, Celie is strongly attracted to her. From the way she looks to the power of voice she owns. Characters oppress dominance such as Sofia’s.

"A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I loves Harpo, she say. God knows I do. But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me."

She is strong, speaks for herself and takes every chance to get away from the abusive and dominant men around her. Her marriage with Harpo could’ve been a happy one but Harpo’s obsession to suppress the woman in her life ruined his family. Sofia quite beaten up the racist voices and mostly all the other female characters. 

“Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for. …..God ain't a he or a she, but a It. But what do it look like? I ask. Don't look like nothing, she say. It ain't a picture show. It ain't something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself. I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you cam feel that, and be happy to feel that, you've found it.”

GOD. I loved reading about the relationship Celie holds with God and how Shug’s perspective brings a brighter side in her life. The best I’ve taken from this novel is how the characters think and remember God. It leaves you reflecting on the various opinions one holds when mentioning God. Manifest. God is everything. Aint a he or a she. The address of Shug to Celie kind of changed her image of God. 

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

Shug holds completely different thoughts on the nature of God as that of Celie. She believes God is everywhere, in trees, air, animals and humans. She brings into light how beautiful it is to admire the universe God has created for us. In order to be happy and loved it is important to not please God but the creation by God who created this world for humans. 

Not just Celie’s but Shug makes the reader to reflect and be grateful for everything that brings us happiness.

Apart from God and Spirituality, the beautiful lifelong bond of Celie and Nettie, the sisters who loved each other from different ends of the world, is worth giving your time to read this absolutely amazing novel. From struggles and abuse, Celie comes a long way to be that independent and free soul she found in Shug Avery. 

Follow my instagram: @pagesofjasmine for more bookish content 

Jasmine

My thought: Letter to God. When I skimmed through the pages of The Color Purple and found letters of this epistolary novel starting with Dear God, I decided to give it a read without even reading the synopsis. It left a mark of strength, independence and love in my heart. The main character Celie, is an African-American living in her parents house in 1980. She takes the reader through her journey of introspection and freedom from her dark past. There is so much to talk about. Some sensitive topics have been picked upon in this novel. 

Celie is the victim and her escape from this world of suffering is no easy task. She is surrounded by men who only seek service and pleasure from her. However, suppression and suffering at her parents and then her husband’s hands is what brings her to the edge of standing for herself with the support of Shug Avery. Now she is one of the strongest characters I find in the book. The book not only talks about how the Black were struggling in the public and private households in holding their position and taking decisions for themselves but also shows us the passions and desires these women hold in the world where they are only seen as an object of pleasure and only to be seen with household chores. Men here have the upper hand and they pretty well make sure of this in the whole novel. BUT, Shug Avery, is the woman who shaped her path clear in the obstacles laid by the men dominated society. 

"Shug act more manly than most men . . . he say. You know Shug will fight, he say. Just like Sofia. She bound to live her life and be herself no matter what."

She enters the book as a companion, friend, balm and inspiration for Celie. She is the healing support system for Celie. The relationship between women in this novel holds a strong place. Some female relationships are motherly, some are friendly, some sisterly whereas some sexual. From the beginning of the mention of Shug's name, Celie is strongly attracted to her. From the way she looks to the power of voice she owns. Characters oppress dominance such as Sofia’s.

"A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I loves Harpo, she say. God knows I do. But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me."

She is strong, speaks for herself and takes every chance to get away from the abusive and dominant men around her. Her marriage with Harpo could’ve been a happy one but Harpo’s obsession to suppress the woman in her life ruined his family. Sofia quite beaten up the racist voices and mostly all the other female characters. 

“Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for. …..God ain't a he or a she, but a It. But what do it look like? I ask. Don't look like nothing, she say. It ain't a picture show. It ain't something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself. I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you cam feel that, and be happy to feel that, you've found it.”

GOD. I loved reading about the relationship Celie holds with God and how Shug’s perspective brings a brighter side in her life. The best I’ve taken from this novel is how the characters think and remember God. It leaves you reflecting on the various opinions one holds when mentioning God. Manifest. God is everything. Aint a he or a she. The address of Shug to Celie kind of changed her image of God. 

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

Shug holds completely different thoughts on the nature of God as that of Celie. She believes God is everywhere, in trees, air, animals and humans. She brings into light how beautiful it is to admire the universe God has created for us. In order to be happy and loved it is important to not please God but the creation by God who created this world for humans. 

Not just Celie’s but Shug makes the reader to reflect and be grateful for everything that brings us happiness.

Apart from God and Spirituality, the beautiful lifelong bond of Celie and Nettie, the sisters who loved each other from different ends of the world, is worth giving your time to read this absolutely amazing novel. From struggles and abuse, Celie comes a long way to be that independent and free soul she found in Shug Avery. 

Follow my instagram: @pagesofjasmine for more bookish content 



Bilge Ince

“Hard times” is a phrase the English love to use, when speaking of Africa. And it is easy to forget that Africa's “hard times” were made harder by them. Millions and millions of Africans were captured and sold into slavery—you and me, Celie! And whole cities were destroyed by slave catching wars. Today the people of Africa—having murdered or sold into slavery their strongest folks— are riddled by disease and sunk in spiritual and physical confusion. They believe in the devil and worship the dead. Nor can they read or write.
Why did they sell us? How could they have done it? And why do we still love them?

I can't believe this book is finished I just can't.

Alice Walker has created a masterpiece and it impressed me so deeply. When I read The Color Purple I laugh, I got upset, I cried and at last, I felt happy. However, I'm glad that this is my first novel about colored people since I feel like it's helping me to understand a bit of what they've been through. 
This is a warm story of a Cellie who is the heroine and the book will hook you up immediately. Cellie has nobody else but God to talk so she writes letters to God. In these letters, she shared her life journey with all honesty, and from the beginning, till the end, you'll see all the development. After some point, she starts to write and receive the letters from her sister since they fall apart.

Kamu Pancholi

** spoiler alert **
           This book was incredible!! Her storytelling is so straightforward but so gripping, and the characters that were so alienated and simplified at first really blossomed towards the end of the book. I completely understand what the prologues meant about this being a book on faith; the tumultuous switches in the person Celie's letters were addressed to added so much to her inner conflict. This was a re-evaluation of the Christian church as we know it, and the ways it has desensitized us to its oppression and atrocities. I don't know, maybe I'm just saying words now, but I thought the book's transition from Celie grappling with the horrors of slavery and the patriarchy to a study on faith and relationships was so, so beautiful. This book showed the beauty of God through nature, the beauty of God through other people, and the beauty of God in being able to appreciate that which He (She? It?) has to offer. I also loved the way Walker wrote wlw love; I never see this representation in TV. Celie and Shug's relationship shatters every male-centric stereotype I've ever encountered; while their husbands form a little roadblock in their relationship, it is not their main struggle. I also loved the time gap between Celie's present and Nettie's letters. It created a tension that would not let me put the book down- I HAD to know what happened to them, and how they dealt with modern colonization. This was another book that I simply could not stop reading (so I neglected my other responsibilities instead. That's how you know it's good). I want to read this book over and over. The people in it and the way they love and support and care for and criticize each other feels so familiar and natural, yet so unattainable in their happiness. Don't get me wrong, I would never romanticize the life they lead under the tyrannical rule of Jim Crow and white supremacy. However, the relationships that thrived despite all this really shone through the novel as a testament to the importance of faith, love, and family- born and found. This book teaches to forgive, to change and grow. I can understand the love it gets and back it wholeheartedly. I know these characters will stay with me for a long, long time.

Colleen

4 Stars

The Color Purple is a beautiful, raw, and unique book. I will not go into too much detail in this review though, because it is best experienced for oneself. 

The writing is raw and at times remarkably crude. Literally from the page, it is clear that this book will not pull any punches about tough subjects. Although I usually avoid vulgarity, in this case if Walker had sugar coated anything the story would have immensely lost power. The story needed to jolt people into seeing the bad as well as the good. And while this technique is most often used as a gimmick, in this case I think it was used with genuine intentions and that the result was effective. Although at the beginning of the story, I feared this might end up as depressing as Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

The dialogue is written in colloquial dialogue. It can be somewhat hard to read at times, the story would not have made sense if it had been adapted to "proper" English. But I did sometimes have to reread a section to fully grasp it. Still, I did not feel like that took away from the intensity of the story. What did lessen the experience for me however, was that the story makes many skips through time without explaining things completely. I often discuss that this is a common problem with stories that span many decades; out of necessity, the author has to skip material. It is often disorienting. While I felt that The Color Purple did a better job of bridging the important moments than other books do, I still felt lost at times. I probably could have read this book in a day, if I would not have had to flip back through chapters trying to see if I missed sometime. Time is not delineated or described in The Color Purple. The jumps between chapters could be a week, a month, or several years. But that is never called out. Characters disappeared without explanation. Sometimes that narrative loops back around much, much later to explain what happened to them, but I was often puzzled and convinced I had missed something. It got harder to follow when her sister's letters were introduced as they also covered a couple decades of time and were not time stamped. It was hard to mesh the two story lines together. (view spoiler)[I think the strongest example of this was Nettie's letter that mentions that the catalyst for her actions was seeing a prominent white woman with a disparaged black maid. Celie is convinced that this person was Sofia. But Sofia did not become the Mayor's maid until after being grown, married, and having five children. By my reckoning, that was about two decades after Nettie left. So either the person she saw was someone else and Celie presumed it was Sofie or else the timelines do not match up at all. If it had only been one passing mention, I would have shrugged it off, but it was mentioned repeatedly. I get frustrated when stories contradict themselves.  (hide spoiler)] So although I found this to be an emotionally potent story overall, theses things kept it from being five stars to me. But it is still a wonderful story.

The other thing that I wanted to mention that I greatly appreciated that Walker kept the story hopeful and uplifting even at the darkest times. She also did not resort to man hating. The story was prime for misandric rants against men. But despite the horrible things that happen to these characters, this is a story of love, of many types of love whether it be for a lover, family, or God. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars
Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Use of Literary Devices: 5 Stars

A single-volume compilation of two works pairs the writer's Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning master work with the author-described "romance of the last 500,000 years."

The Temple of My Familiar

Jamieson

“Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved.”


This is a book I regret listening to on audiobook because I think if I had read it in print it would have had more impact. It's so beautifully written. So I may reread it at some point. That said, I really loved this and I can see why it's a classic. This is at its centre, a book about trying to be loved, trying to find place and community and connection. I loved the relationship between Shug and Celie as well as the one between Celie and Nettie and the final scene really tugged at my heart. 

this is one of those books everyone should pick up


  “The years have come and gone without a single word from you. Only the sky above us do we hold in common. I look at it often as if, somehow, reflected from its immensities, I will one day find myself gazing into your eyes.”

Beatriz Aguiar

a bit hard to get into at the beggining because of the different writing but then it was a super interesting book and a very easy and fast read. Very good book with very important themes

Jantien 

I loved reading about a simpler time, a different culture, a place where people worked and talked and had children and bad marriages, no distractions from all the fancy stuff we have now. But even then, they could tell when something wasn’t right and they got up and tried to make it better. Very admirable. The story was very long though, and not a lot happened. The writing took some getting used to.

The Color Purple A Novel