The Color Purple

Funny at times. Sad at times. Enlightening all the way through. Written as a series of chats with God and letters to and from Celie and her sister, Nettie, this book takes place over 40 year in Georgia. It highlights the terrible prejudice toward Celie by her own kind. Her life is so bad, being abused, sexually, physically and emotionally by the man she thinks is her father, and having given birth to his two children, she is married off to an equally abusive womanising husband. She is separated from her sister, Nettie, who eventually goes to Africa as a help to a black missionary and his wife. This couple have adopted Celie’s children, unbeknown to her, whose parentage is not known to the missionary couple. Nettie experiences the terrible greed and lust for land and money of the rubber planters, and also the appalling culture of scarification and FGM within the tribe with whom they live. Celie’s life only turns a corner when she meets one of the women her husband is involved with. This lady, Shug, is a strong character who encourages Celie (eventually) to take a stand and be her own person; to fight for what she has a right to – Freedom and equality within the marriage; the right to say ‘No’ and the right to have the letters her sister has been writing to her for years but she has never received. Celie has never had such love and compassion from anyone before Shug and they become intimate. This intimacy is spoken of with sincerity and compassion in the book. Eventually, all things work out okay for Celie, Nettie and Celie’s children but not before they all learn some very important lessons about bigotry, discrimination, sexual and racial relations, their history and our relationship with God.

I have been meaning to read this book for so so so long... I mean, it's a classic so obviously, I have seen it absolutely everywhere and loads of people have been telling me to read it - but with my already-massive TBR pile, I knew it would be a while until I got to it. BUT THEN... I had to read it for university, so The Color Purple got bumped up to the very top of my reading list. And because it was for university, that's why there are all of the different coloured tabs in my book. Each coloured tab represents a different theme throughout the book. Anyway! Let's get into the review! Set in rural Georgia, The Color Purple focuses on the life of women of color in the southern United States in the 1930s, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture. Fourteen-year-old Celie is being abused by her father; she is impregnated and then her babies are stolen away from her. Her sister, Nettie is the only support that Celie has in her miserable life, but she would never dream of standing up for herself because of the consequences. Then, one day she is sent off to marry Mr. _______, who beats her into doing what he says. With Nettie no longer there to help Celie through the pain, she starts to think that life is impossible. Then, one day Shug Avery comes to town and gives Celie a glimmer of hope... Wow. Just wow. This book was just... Amazing. How have I not read this already? It is a very hard book to read because of the issues that Walker portrays throughout the novel such as rape and domestic abuse but Walker creates these characters that have so much depth to them, so much love and hurt. There is so much for me to write about this book, but I don't want this review to be a billion pages long, so I'll try and just talk about the main things. However, if I digress, please forgive me, there's just too much to talk about. As soon as you start the book, you are instantly met with pain. Fourteen-year-old Celie is being raped by her father and her dying Mother and her sister does not know. Celie isn't fourteen throughout the entire book; by the end, she is about mid-30s? I'm guessing? Walker describes how her hair is starting to grey so I'm presuming she's around the 30 mark. One of the things that I didn't like about this book were the loooooonnngggg letters from Nettie. Most of them were really enjoyable to read, as they offered insight to racism in different parts of the world and also gave us an insight to how the Olinka people lived in Africa. However, a handful of the letters just seemed a bit boring and I just wanted to get on with Celie's story and see how she was getting on. “All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. 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.” ― Alice Walker, The Color Purple Also... Shug Avery... You gotta love her and hate her at the same time. She's such a dominant force within the book. She stands up for herself and doesn't let anyone walk over her and she teaches Celie about love and how Celie can start standing up for herself. But Avery is also this character who can't seem to commit. *slight spoiler ahead* Celie falls in love with Shug Avery, Avery loves Celie back. So there we go, what would the problem be? Well, Avery doesn't commit to Celie. She goes round taking Celie's feelings for granted as she knows that Celie will always be there, waiting for her. In the end, Celie is just like 'no. I will always love you, but I will not wait for you forever'. GO CELIE! Another character that I absolutely loved was Sofia. She was strong, independent and didn't let herself be dominated by men or white people. Even though she recognised where her place was in the racist society, she was continuously fighting it when she would just do what she wanted. I think she serves as an amazing role model for Celie and also for readers because of how much she fights for herself. Shug Avery annoyed me sometimes and Nettie's letters were sometimes too long, but those things are so trivial in the grand scheme of this book. Who cares about letters being a bit long when you're reading a book that conveys the racial issues that were happening with the 30s - and are also happening now! It's a book about race, transformation, acceptance, lesbian romance and realising that actually, you DO matter. I think that this is a book that everyone should read as it highlights key aspects of society and is very educating about how black women and black people in general are suppressed within society. Trigger warnings: rape, abuse, racial hate

This novel describes an amazing journey of self discovery, self acceptance and of finding one's place in the world. It is also a story of love - in many sense of the word; the love between sisters, between man and woman, between two women - and also of the contented amiable love that can grow through familiarity rather than from any initial attraction. The characters are many and varied; some likeable and some not but all totally believable and unforgettable - the kind of characters that stay with you long after you have finished the book. It is true that the ending is a little convenient and does involve a high level of coincidence, but this did not affect my overall appreciation of the book. For a truly imersive effect, which really brings the dialect and accents to life, I also recommend the audio book narrated by Alice Walker herself. Her performance is as suberb as the book.

I was quite surprised by this book being written in the epistolary form as I haven't read many books written this was, but Walker does the form justice and then some. Not only do we truly, and in the most honest way possible, get to see the world through Celie's eyes, but we are made to re evaluate just how we view Africa,history and the West. I feel it's not made to make us feel resentful for history, but to demonstrate a new way of moving forward and just getting on with life like Celie does. Life isn't always kind to her but she does more than just survive. The emotions told in this book are raw and beautiful( especially Celie's relationship with her sister) and Walker doesn't fail to sprinkle a little humour in their now and then. The quest for freedom, love and understanding really hit home for me and made this book a wonderful read. I recommend this 100%!!!!

An interestingness for sure. Written as letters but still reads like a story. A few difficult subjects to read, if you avoid stories that mention, rape, beatings, homosexual behaviour, abusive husbands etc then you may find this a difficult read but if you can look beyond those then this does make a gripping book.

Fast delivery and book was in new condition as described. Very happy with my purchase.

Da ich den Film schon mehrfach gesehen habe und ich ihn wahnsinnig gut finde, hab ich nun auch das Buch gelesen. In die Sprache der Erzählerin muss man sich zwar ein wenig einfinden, dann ist das Buch aber nicht weniger eindrucksvoll als der Film.

Me gusta mucho el libro. Llegó en buen estado.

L'ambiente in cui la storia (composta da lettere che la protagonista scrive o riceve) si svolge è a dir poco agghiacciante. C'è tanto dolore, ma, alla fine, anche tanto amore per le piccole cose che la vita sa regalarti e dove la famiglia - quella di sangue, ma soprattutto quella che ci si sceglie - è un punto fermo. E' un libro non facile da leggere per uno straniero, perché è scritto in uno slang che distorce i vocaboli. Dopo le prime pagine, però, ci si abitua e si riesce a seguire la storia con agio. Consiglio di leggere la traduzione se non si conosce bene l'inglese/americano. Grazie!

I had only ever seen the movie before I read this, but I absolutely love the movie. I watch it several times a year, and even sometimes just while I'm working on homework or even for no reason at all. Still, I was wary about reading the book because I was afraid it would destroy my perception of the movie. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, and now I am in love with both the movie and the book. I would like to say that if anyone is reading this and expecting it to be word for word like the movie, or visa versa, you will be a little disappointed. Both are wonderful works, and they should be appreciated as such. Neither one should be compared to the other while reading/watching them because they were not approached the same way. I'd say the movie is toned down more language wise, but the book is more forthcoming. There is a lot that was left out, and after reading the book a lot more of what happened in the movie makes sense. ***Spoilers ahead*** - Shug and Celie's relationship is explored in depth. You get a sense of it in the movie, but the book definitely clarifies that Celie and Shug are lovers. - Albert isn't quite as cruel to Celie as he is in the movie. There's abuse, but eventually he becomes remorseful and the two of them end up becoming close friends. - All of the characters lives are discussed while the book just kind of left you wondering what happened to Squeak, Celie's other siblings, Celie's real father, Harpo and Sofia's kids, etc. - The mayor's wife is far more sinister in the book than she is in the movie, which makes much more sense. - A lot of the conversations are taken out of context in the movie, and after reading the books they made more sense. For instance, the "This life be over soon, heaven last always" conversation between Celie and Sofia. Celie explains she told Harpo to beat Sofia because she was jealous at how strong she was. Another is the conversation between Celie and Shug about sleeping with Albert. In the movie Shug just asks if Celie minded that she slept with him (assumingly in the past) but in the book it's made clear that Shug wanted to sleep with Albert during the present time. She also slept with Celie, as mentioned before, and Celie explained how jealous her sleeping with Albert made her. All in all it's a great read, and I recommend anyone who is a fan of the movie to read the book. Yes, there are some "language choices" that make the book seem more sexual, but in all fairness that makes the story more realistic. If that sort of thing bothers you then just stick to the movie. However, if you're looking for answers like I was, and you don't mind the honesty, this is something you need to read.