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The Color Purple Collection #1
The Color Purple
Published to unprecedented acclaim, The Color Purple established Alice Walker as a major voice in modern fiction. This is the story of two sisters--one a missionary in Africa and the other a child wife living in the South--who sustain their loyalty to and trust in each other across time, distance, and silence. Beautifully imagined and deeply compassionate, this classic novel of American literature is rich with passion, pain, inspiration, and an indomitable love of life.
--back cover
--back cover
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1982
About the author
Alice Walker
266 books6,542 followersNoted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as
The Color Purple
(1982).
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_W...
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_W...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 25,937 reviews
October 5, 2015
I give this book 5 stars to spite the myopic David Gilmours and the V.S. Naipauls of the world who think books written by women are irrelevant. I give this 5 stars to make up for the many 1/2/3 star ratings it may receive simply because of Alice Walker's forthright, honest portrayal of unpleasant truths that are often conveniently shoved under the carpet so as not to disturb the carefully preserved but brittle structure of dogma and century-old misconceptions.
And I award this 5 stars, symbolically on Banned Books Week as an apology for all the cowardly sentiments of the ones who misuse their power by banning books, thereby shutting out many powerful voices which demand and need to be heard.
In my eyes, an author's merit lies not only in their sense of aesthetic beauty, but also in the scope and reach of their worldviews which must reflect in their craft.
Alice Walker's is the voice of one such African American writer that recounts a story which not only breaches the boundaries of an issue like emancipation of women but tries to detect a common pattern in problems plaguing civilizations across continents. She gives us one horrifying glimpse after another into the lives of women ravaged by unspeakable brutalities like rape and abuse, lives searching for meaning and connection and seeking out that elusive ray of hope amidst the darkness of despair.
And by the end of the narrative, she brings to light with great sensitivity, that misogyny, sexism and blind patriarchal prejudices are as rampantly in vogue in the urban, upscale sphere of American cities as they are in the intractable, untameable African landscapes.
Celie and Nettie. Shug Avery, Sofia and Mary Agnes. Tashi and Olivia.
All these are but different names and many facets of the same disturbing reality.
If the lives of Celie and Nettie are torn apart by sexual abuse and humiliation from childhood, then Tashi and other unnamed young African girls of the Olinka tribe are victims of genital mutilation and other forms of psychological and physical torture.
If the men of African American families dehumanize the female members to the point of treating them as mere care-givers and sex slaves, then the objectification of African women by the men of their families is no less appalling. And contrary to accepted beliefs, white families in America are just as easily susceptible to misogyny as the African American families are.
But Alice Walker doesn't only stop at opening our eyes to the uncivilized aspects of our so-called civilized world, but also shows us how knowledge of the world and people at large, self-awareness and education can help exorcize such social evils, how it is never too late to gain a fresh perspective, start anew and how empowerment of women eventually empowers society.
Dear David Gilmour, if I were a professor of English literature I'd have taught Alice Walker to my students without a shred of hesitation, because here's an author who may not possess the trademark sophistication of Virginia Woolf's lyrical prose but who, nonetheless, fearlessly broaches subjects many masters and mistresses of the craft may balk at dealing with.
Alice Walker: 5 | David Gilmour: 0
And I award this 5 stars, symbolically on Banned Books Week as an apology for all the cowardly sentiments of the ones who misuse their power by banning books, thereby shutting out many powerful voices which demand and need to be heard.
In my eyes, an author's merit lies not only in their sense of aesthetic beauty, but also in the scope and reach of their worldviews which must reflect in their craft.
Alice Walker's is the voice of one such African American writer that recounts a story which not only breaches the boundaries of an issue like emancipation of women but tries to detect a common pattern in problems plaguing civilizations across continents. She gives us one horrifying glimpse after another into the lives of women ravaged by unspeakable brutalities like rape and abuse, lives searching for meaning and connection and seeking out that elusive ray of hope amidst the darkness of despair.
And by the end of the narrative, she brings to light with great sensitivity, that misogyny, sexism and blind patriarchal prejudices are as rampantly in vogue in the urban, upscale sphere of American cities as they are in the intractable, untameable African landscapes.
Celie and Nettie. Shug Avery, Sofia and Mary Agnes. Tashi and Olivia.
All these are but different names and many facets of the same disturbing reality.
If the lives of Celie and Nettie are torn apart by sexual abuse and humiliation from childhood, then Tashi and other unnamed young African girls of the Olinka tribe are victims of genital mutilation and other forms of psychological and physical torture.
If the men of African American families dehumanize the female members to the point of treating them as mere care-givers and sex slaves, then the objectification of African women by the men of their families is no less appalling. And contrary to accepted beliefs, white families in America are just as easily susceptible to misogyny as the African American families are.
But Alice Walker doesn't only stop at opening our eyes to the uncivilized aspects of our so-called civilized world, but also shows us how knowledge of the world and people at large, self-awareness and education can help exorcize such social evils, how it is never too late to gain a fresh perspective, start anew and how empowerment of women eventually empowers society.
Dear David Gilmour, if I were a professor of English literature I'd have taught Alice Walker to my students without a shred of hesitation, because here's an author who may not possess the trademark sophistication of Virginia Woolf's lyrical prose but who, nonetheless, fearlessly broaches subjects many masters and mistresses of the craft may balk at dealing with.
Alice Walker: 5 | David Gilmour: 0
December 4, 2013
I read The Colour Purple in my early teens, was traumatized by the graphic abuse portrayed, and vowed to never read it again. I was curious about why so many of my GR friends rated it so highly and was eventually convinced to give it another go.
Years after my first read, I still (of course) have the same visceral reaction to the abuse but that no longer blinds me from seeing the magnificence of Alice Walker’s storytelling, and how she brings her characters to life.
Celie is the protagonist of the tale. Her story is told through a series of letters written firstly to God, and then to her sister Nettie. As an abused, uneducated woman (abused by her father, husband, and step-children) who was only ever shown love by Nettie, the letters are very telling, and are the only means Celie has of expressing her feelings.
I adored Celie. It really amazed me how a woman who was abused so much (sexually, physically, verbally) could still have so much love in her heart, and not be bitter. Imagine hearing things like this regularly: (Husband to Celie) – “Who you think you is? You can’t curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.”
But Celie is something, and one of my favourite parts of this book is the sisterhood portrayed, especially by the enigmatic Shug, who helped Celie on her journey to self-realization. The book has strong female characters, which is another plus.
I’m so glad I gave this book a second chance. Celie is a wonderful character and proof of the resilience of the human spirit.
“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking 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, the more I love.”
December 27, 2011
Wow. I mean. Really. Wow.
You know how there are some books and their words wrap around you like a comforting blanket? Well...
This. Is. Not. One.
The Color Purple rips the clothes right off of your skin, leaving you bare and vulnerable. From the first freakin' moment opening the page. You are just THERE and you can't be anywhere else but THERE. Even when you're not.
Wow.
Have you seen the movie? I had. I thought I was prepared. Because the movie was devastating. I remember vividly being in the house that me and a couple of college friends rented, sitting there in the dark, all of us sitting on our furniture, chain smoking, drinking wine and crying. The movie didn't prepare me.
Walker's words are music. Sometimes a sweet melody, but mostly a cacophony of pain and sorrow. Oh and how the characters change and grow with time, how they eventually find peace. And the dichotomy of the South and Africa? It makes me yearn to find pieces of literature that can show me the mysteries of that continent.
I am incoherent and refuse to speak of the summary. It's The Color Purple! It doesn't need a summary.
It is alive.
It is life.
You know how there are some books and their words wrap around you like a comforting blanket? Well...
This. Is. Not. One.
The Color Purple rips the clothes right off of your skin, leaving you bare and vulnerable. From the first freakin' moment opening the page. You are just THERE and you can't be anywhere else but THERE. Even when you're not.
Wow.
Have you seen the movie? I had. I thought I was prepared. Because the movie was devastating. I remember vividly being in the house that me and a couple of college friends rented, sitting there in the dark, all of us sitting on our furniture, chain smoking, drinking wine and crying. The movie didn't prepare me.
Walker's words are music. Sometimes a sweet melody, but mostly a cacophony of pain and sorrow. Oh and how the characters change and grow with time, how they eventually find peace. And the dichotomy of the South and Africa? It makes me yearn to find pieces of literature that can show me the mysteries of that continent.
I am incoherent and refuse to speak of the summary. It's The Color Purple! It doesn't need a summary.
It is alive.
It is life.
March 27, 2024
Gotta tell you, I don't really know what to say.
They say there's a first time for everything but I, as a member of the never shuts up community, doubted this day would ever come.
So I will keep this quick!
Lately I've had a hard time feeling books - as in actually have them impact me emotionally - so I've read increasingly crazy lit fic to attempt to undo it.
This just shattered all of that and fixed it no problem. I teared up.
I'm not ashamed, even if this wrecks my badass image. This book is emotive and touching and I care about the characters so, so much.
But enough yearning on main.
Bottom line: A book so good it broke me!
-----------------
pre-review
going to stare at the wall for the next couple of hours
review to come / 4.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
can i still call myself a bookworm if it took me this long to read this?
They say there's a first time for everything but I, as a member of the never shuts up community, doubted this day would ever come.
So I will keep this quick!
Lately I've had a hard time feeling books - as in actually have them impact me emotionally - so I've read increasingly crazy lit fic to attempt to undo it.
This just shattered all of that and fixed it no problem. I teared up.
I'm not ashamed, even if this wrecks my badass image. This book is emotive and touching and I care about the characters so, so much.
But enough yearning on main.
Bottom line: A book so good it broke me!
-----------------
pre-review
going to stare at the wall for the next couple of hours
review to come / 4.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
can i still call myself a bookworm if it took me this long to read this?
February 17, 2022
"Who you think you is? he say. You can't curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all."
And yet, she is one of the strongest characters I have ever met in literature. Long before women began speaking up about their different experiences in the #metoo movement, Alice Walker's Celie and her sisters resist the violence and power of the men around them and go on living through the pain and frustration, only to find life worth fighting for in the end. Rarely these days do I finish a book within one sitting, but this novel was impossible to put down.
In a voice genuinely her own, Celie begins to tell her story of rape, loss, and forced marriage. Her loneliness is so painful that she can't even think of a recipient for her letters - except for God, which she imagines to be an older, white man, the very symbol of patriarchal power.
Wherever her life takes her, she is surrounded by men who are taught from the cradle to mistreat and look down on women in order to establish their own fragile egos. While they claim to be the stronger sex, they leave it to their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives to make a living, to work for food and shelter and education.
Celie's world - based on submission - changes when she encounters two women who refuse to bow their heads, who fight for their right to individual pride and happiness. In Shug, her lover, and Sofia, her neighbour, she sees the true colour of female power: the purple of queens! A mix of the passionately hot blood-red colour of happiness and the deeply painful and dark blue, purple is the essence of nature, the expression of the divine principle of life beyond the Christian God of the bible who is mainly catering to the white male authority that makes women suffer.
The day Celie discovers that her long lost sister is still alive, she can finally drop the patriarchal god figure as a recipient of her letters (written to reflect on the painful experience of her life) and share her thoughts with somebody she loves truly and unconditionally. "Dear Nettie" - a moment of triumph caught in writing!
Life is not only red happiness or blue sadness, it is purple!
Therefore Celie's lover Shug is convinced that "God is pissed" whenever someone ignores the beauty of the colour purple in nature whereas he is completely absent from church.
Finding spiritual support within the loving human heart is at the centre of this powerful hymn to women across the world, and while telling the story of Nettie and Celie, of Sofia and Shug, it approaches the difficult political topics of misogyny, repressed sexuality, colonialism, missionary endeavours, racism, domestic violence and poverty.
Rarely have I felt a colour expressing itself so strongly in emotions!
Despite the terrible circumstances of life in the Deep South in the 1930s and 1940s, it is a book about the joy of living. Confronted with the hatred of the man she is about to leave to embark on her first attempt at independent life, Celie answers:
"I am pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here."
And the message Alice Walker sends out to people across the world is a positive one: men and women can define their own roles, they can develop and learn and change for the better. Gender roles are not static, and there are moments of peace and friendship for anyone who dares to move out of the pattern of dominance that destroys the freedom of choice for both men and women.
Recommended to the world, over and over!
And yet, she is one of the strongest characters I have ever met in literature. Long before women began speaking up about their different experiences in the #metoo movement, Alice Walker's Celie and her sisters resist the violence and power of the men around them and go on living through the pain and frustration, only to find life worth fighting for in the end. Rarely these days do I finish a book within one sitting, but this novel was impossible to put down.
In a voice genuinely her own, Celie begins to tell her story of rape, loss, and forced marriage. Her loneliness is so painful that she can't even think of a recipient for her letters - except for God, which she imagines to be an older, white man, the very symbol of patriarchal power.
Wherever her life takes her, she is surrounded by men who are taught from the cradle to mistreat and look down on women in order to establish their own fragile egos. While they claim to be the stronger sex, they leave it to their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives to make a living, to work for food and shelter and education.
Celie's world - based on submission - changes when she encounters two women who refuse to bow their heads, who fight for their right to individual pride and happiness. In Shug, her lover, and Sofia, her neighbour, she sees the true colour of female power: the purple of queens! A mix of the passionately hot blood-red colour of happiness and the deeply painful and dark blue, purple is the essence of nature, the expression of the divine principle of life beyond the Christian God of the bible who is mainly catering to the white male authority that makes women suffer.
The day Celie discovers that her long lost sister is still alive, she can finally drop the patriarchal god figure as a recipient of her letters (written to reflect on the painful experience of her life) and share her thoughts with somebody she loves truly and unconditionally. "Dear Nettie" - a moment of triumph caught in writing!
Life is not only red happiness or blue sadness, it is purple!
Therefore Celie's lover Shug is convinced that "God is pissed" whenever someone ignores the beauty of the colour purple in nature whereas he is completely absent from church.
Finding spiritual support within the loving human heart is at the centre of this powerful hymn to women across the world, and while telling the story of Nettie and Celie, of Sofia and Shug, it approaches the difficult political topics of misogyny, repressed sexuality, colonialism, missionary endeavours, racism, domestic violence and poverty.
Rarely have I felt a colour expressing itself so strongly in emotions!
Despite the terrible circumstances of life in the Deep South in the 1930s and 1940s, it is a book about the joy of living. Confronted with the hatred of the man she is about to leave to embark on her first attempt at independent life, Celie answers:
"I am pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here."
And the message Alice Walker sends out to people across the world is a positive one: men and women can define their own roles, they can develop and learn and change for the better. Gender roles are not static, and there are moments of peace and friendship for anyone who dares to move out of the pattern of dominance that destroys the freedom of choice for both men and women.
Recommended to the world, over and over!
February 1, 2021
The Color Purple is an absolute masterpiece about love and redemption. Shug, Celie, Sofia, and Nellie are some of the strongest women characters in American fiction. I am literally writing this with tears streaming down my cheeks.
There is so much to unpack here as Alice Walker deals holistically with the fate of African Americans from the perspective of Africa and the tribes who sold their kinsman to white slavers, the devastation of Africa by European colonizers particularly after WWI leading to WWII, the violence of in the South particularly aimed towards women, female sexuality...There is an infinite depth in this book that can reveal itself more and more with each successive read.
The first half of the story is told through letters to God by Celia who is married, against her will, to Mr. ____. We learn that his first name is Albert, but we never learn his last name. Perhaps, this anonymity is symbolic of the widespread rape and spousal abuse in impoverished communities - and yet we also see that in the white mayor's family, through her sister-in-law Sofia's eyes is no more sane and no less violent.
Celia was raped by her stepfather and bore two children that subsequently disappeared. Her sister refuses Mr. ____ in marriage and leaves and thus Celia is given to him. Sex for her is a burden and a torture without end: You know the worst part? she say. The worst part is I don't think he notice. He git up there and enjoy himself just the same. No matter what I'm thinking. No matter what I feel. It just him. Heartfeeling don't seem to enter into it. She snort. The fact he can do it like that make me want to kill him. (p. 65).
In fact, Albert loves the singer Shug who, ailing, comes to their house (and incidentally name drops legendary blues singer Bessie Smith as a friend - thus dating the story to the 30s). As Celie nurses Shug back to health,the two women develop a deep, lasting love for each other that is both physical and spiritual and the first love that Celia has ever felt from another person: She say my name again. She say this song I'm bout to sing is call Miss Celie's song. Cause she scratched it out of my head when I was sick...First time somebody made something and name it after me. (p. 73) This is one of the first moments where having a box of Kleenex handy is not a luxury. Through Shug, Celie learns about her body and that she can have pleasure via her breasts and her sex (p. 78).
The book has many characters that transform completely during the book. Mr. ____ for example, will be cursed by Celie when she leaves (finally), but he will change completely into a tender-hearted and remorseful man who accepts his wife's sexuality such as it is and she in turn is able to forgive him. In fact, at the end of the book, there is a beautiful reunion which is somewhat prefigured back on p. 57: "First time I think about the world. What the world got to do with anything, I think. Then I see myself sitting there quilting tween Shug Avery and Mr. ____. Us three together gainst Tobias and his fly speck box of chocolate. For the first time in my life, I feel just right. She and Shug have a spiritual transformation as well, evolving from the white-borrowed religion of a white God which has born no good for Celie: Yeah, I say, and he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama, a lowdown dog of a step pa and a sister I probably won't ever see again. Anyhow, I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. And act just like all the other mens I know. Trifling, forgitful, and lowdown. (p. 192). Shug expresses her beliefs this: 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. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, lord. Feeling like shit.
It? I ast.
Yeah, It. God ain't a he or a she, but a It. (p. 195). The next two pages are a beautiful eloge to this form or Emersonian deism, a powerful arugment for a more personal and less judgmental religion. 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 to everything to git attention that we do, except walk?" (p. 196) I was touched by this ecological message that reminded me of the comments on this that I made in my reviews of The Overstory and The Lord of the Rings. From this point on, she addresses her letters directly to Nellie...
The letters written back to Celie from her sister Nettie are hidden for years by a pre-repentant Mr.____. In this letters, we learn of Nettie's voyage to Africa as a missionary. Nellie also has a spiritual transformation as she sees European Christianity's utter disregard for villagers and their traditions with the complete destruction and near elimination of the Olinka culture that she traveled to Africa to help.
There is just so much depth in this masterpiece, that I will stop my review here and just urge you, beg you to read this book if you have never done so. It is a rare, raw look at humanity and suffering but with a powerful, compelling message of redemption and hope.
My rating of all the Pulitzer Winners: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
There is so much to unpack here as Alice Walker deals holistically with the fate of African Americans from the perspective of Africa and the tribes who sold their kinsman to white slavers, the devastation of Africa by European colonizers particularly after WWI leading to WWII, the violence of in the South particularly aimed towards women, female sexuality...There is an infinite depth in this book that can reveal itself more and more with each successive read.
The first half of the story is told through letters to God by Celia who is married, against her will, to Mr. ____. We learn that his first name is Albert, but we never learn his last name. Perhaps, this anonymity is symbolic of the widespread rape and spousal abuse in impoverished communities - and yet we also see that in the white mayor's family, through her sister-in-law Sofia's eyes is no more sane and no less violent.
Celia was raped by her stepfather and bore two children that subsequently disappeared. Her sister refuses Mr. ____ in marriage and leaves and thus Celia is given to him. Sex for her is a burden and a torture without end: You know the worst part? she say. The worst part is I don't think he notice. He git up there and enjoy himself just the same. No matter what I'm thinking. No matter what I feel. It just him. Heartfeeling don't seem to enter into it. She snort. The fact he can do it like that make me want to kill him. (p. 65).
In fact, Albert loves the singer Shug who, ailing, comes to their house (and incidentally name drops legendary blues singer Bessie Smith as a friend - thus dating the story to the 30s). As Celie nurses Shug back to health,the two women develop a deep, lasting love for each other that is both physical and spiritual and the first love that Celia has ever felt from another person: She say my name again. She say this song I'm bout to sing is call Miss Celie's song. Cause she scratched it out of my head when I was sick...First time somebody made something and name it after me. (p. 73) This is one of the first moments where having a box of Kleenex handy is not a luxury. Through Shug, Celie learns about her body and that she can have pleasure via her breasts and her sex (p. 78).
The book has many characters that transform completely during the book. Mr. ____ for example, will be cursed by Celie when she leaves (finally), but he will change completely into a tender-hearted and remorseful man who accepts his wife's sexuality such as it is and she in turn is able to forgive him. In fact, at the end of the book, there is a beautiful reunion which is somewhat prefigured back on p. 57: "First time I think about the world. What the world got to do with anything, I think. Then I see myself sitting there quilting tween Shug Avery and Mr. ____. Us three together gainst Tobias and his fly speck box of chocolate. For the first time in my life, I feel just right. She and Shug have a spiritual transformation as well, evolving from the white-borrowed religion of a white God which has born no good for Celie: Yeah, I say, and he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama, a lowdown dog of a step pa and a sister I probably won't ever see again. Anyhow, I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. And act just like all the other mens I know. Trifling, forgitful, and lowdown. (p. 192). Shug expresses her beliefs this: 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. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, lord. Feeling like shit.
It? I ast.
Yeah, It. God ain't a he or a she, but a It. (p. 195). The next two pages are a beautiful eloge to this form or Emersonian deism, a powerful arugment for a more personal and less judgmental religion. 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 to everything to git attention that we do, except walk?" (p. 196) I was touched by this ecological message that reminded me of the comments on this that I made in my reviews of The Overstory and The Lord of the Rings. From this point on, she addresses her letters directly to Nellie...
The letters written back to Celie from her sister Nettie are hidden for years by a pre-repentant Mr.____. In this letters, we learn of Nettie's voyage to Africa as a missionary. Nellie also has a spiritual transformation as she sees European Christianity's utter disregard for villagers and their traditions with the complete destruction and near elimination of the Olinka culture that she traveled to Africa to help.
There is just so much depth in this masterpiece, that I will stop my review here and just urge you, beg you to read this book if you have never done so. It is a rare, raw look at humanity and suffering but with a powerful, compelling message of redemption and hope.
My rating of all the Pulitzer Winners: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
August 24, 2021
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel, by American author Alice Walker, which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize, for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name.
Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on the life of African-American women, in the Southern United States, in the 1930's, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture.
Celie is a poor, uneducated 14-year-old girl, living in the American South in the early 1900's. She writes letters to God, because her stepfather, Alphonso, beats her harshly and rapes her continuously.
Alphonso has already impregnated Celie once, a pregnancy that resulted in the birth of a boy she named Adam. Alphonso takes the baby away shortly after his birth. Celie has a second child, a girl she named Olivia whom Alphonso also abducts. Celie's ailing mother dies after cursing Celie on her deathbed.
Celie and her younger sister, 12-year-old Nettie, learn that a man identified only as Mister wants to marry Nettie. Alphonso refuses to let Nettie marry, instead arranging for Mister to marry Celie. Mister, needing someone to care for his children and keep his house, eventually accepts the offer. Mister and his children, whose mother was murdered by a jealous lover, all treat Celie badly.
However, she eventually gets Mister's squalid living conditions and incorrigible children under control. Shortly thereafter, Nettie runs away from Alphonso and takes refuge at Celie's house, where Mister makes sexual advances toward her. Celie then advises Nettie to seek assistance from a well-dressed black woman that she had seen in the general store a while back; the woman had unknowingly adopted Celie's daughter and was the only black woman that Celie had ever seen with money of her own.
Nettie is forced to leave after promising to write. Celie, however, never receives any letters and concludes that her sister is dead. Shortly thereafter, Nettie runs away from Alphonso and takes refuge at Celie's house, where Mister makes sexual advances toward her.
Celie then advises Nettie to seek assistance from a well-dressed black woman that she had seen in the general store a while back; the woman had unknowingly adopted Celie's daughter and was the only black woman that Celie had ever seen with money of her own. Nettie is forced to leave after promising to write. Celie, however, never receives any letters and concludes that her sister is dead. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و یکم ماه نوامبر سال 2010میلادی
عنوان: به رنگ ارغوان؛ نویسنده: آلیس واکر؛ مترجم: امیرحسین مهدیزاده؛ تهران، نشر نی، 1388، در 306ص؛ شابک 9789641851288؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
این نویسنده میگویند: «جهالت بزرگترین دشمن ماست.»؛ ایشان میافزایند: (فکر میکنم «رنگ بنفش» با عشق در ارتباط است، ما نیاز به ارتباط داریم)؛
چکیده داستان: «سِلی جکسن»، دختر نوجوان سیاهپوستی است، که پدرش فرزندان او را به خانواده «ساموئل»ها میفروشد؛ خود او را نیز به «آلبرت جانسن گلاور»، مرد سیاهپوست بیوه ای واگذار میکنند، که در پی خواهرِ «سلی»، «نتی (بوسیا)» بوده است؛ او با وجود آزار و اذیت مدام «آلبرت» و فرزندانش، سعی میکند همسر مطیعی باشد؛ «نتی» از خانه ی پدر فرار میکند، و نزد «سلی» میآید؛ اما «آلبرت» او را بیرون میکند؛ «نتی» قول میدهد، برای «سلی» نامه بنویسد، ولی هیچگاه نامه ای به دستش نمیرسد؛ «هارپو (پو)»، پسر «آلبرت»، برخلاف رأی پدر، با دختری چاق و سرکش، به نام «سوفیا (وینفری)» ازدواج میکند، و وقتی «هارپو» بنا به توصیه ی پدر، او را کتک میزند، در مقابلش میایستد؛ «هارپو» همچنان به زورگوئیهای خویش ادامه میدهد، تا اینکه «سوفیا» او را ترک میکند، و بچه هایش را هم با خود میبرد؛
در همین حین «شاگ ایوری» خواننده، و محبوبه ی «آلبرت»، برای دیدن آنان میآید؛ «هارپو» خانه اش را به کافه تبدیل میکند، و «شاگ» نیز در آنجا برنامه اجرا میکند؛ «سوفیا» با محبوب جدیدش، «باستر (تیلیس)» باز میگردد، و کافه را به هم میریزد؛ «شاگ» به «سلی (گلدبرگ)» میقبولاند، که آنطور هم که فکر میکرده، زشت نیست، و عشق و محبت بین زنان را به او میآموزد؛ اما خودش مجبور میشود به خاطر پدرش که واعظ محلی آنجاست، کافه را ترک کند، و به ممفیس برود؛ «سوفیا» نیز به خاطر جواب رد دادن به یک زن سفیدپوست، که از او میخواهد خدمتکارش باشد، به زندان میافتد؛ «سوفیا»ی درمانده، مجبور میشود در خانه ی یک زن سفیدپوست، خدمتکاری کند؛ «شاگ» با همسر جدیدش، «گریدی (گیلوری)» بازمیگردد، و پی میبرد که «آلبرت» در تمام این سالها، نامه هائی را که «نتی» برای «سلی» فرستاده، پنهان کرده است؛ «نتی» در نامه ها نوشته، که همراه با «ساموئلها»، و فرزندان «سلی»، «آدام» و «آلیویا»، بهعنوان مبلّغ مذهبی، در آفریقا زندگی میکند؛ «سلی» به ممفیس میرود؛ «آلبرتِ» پیر و تنها، به رابطه ی «سوفیا» و «هارپو» حسادت میکند؛ «سلی» که خانه ی مادریش را (از مردی که فکر میکرد پدرش است در حالی که ناپدری اش بوده) به ارث برده، تبدیل به فروشگاه لباس میکند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel, by American author Alice Walker, which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize, for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name.
Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on the life of African-American women, in the Southern United States, in the 1930's, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture.
Celie is a poor, uneducated 14-year-old girl, living in the American South in the early 1900's. She writes letters to God, because her stepfather, Alphonso, beats her harshly and rapes her continuously.
Alphonso has already impregnated Celie once, a pregnancy that resulted in the birth of a boy she named Adam. Alphonso takes the baby away shortly after his birth. Celie has a second child, a girl she named Olivia whom Alphonso also abducts. Celie's ailing mother dies after cursing Celie on her deathbed.
Celie and her younger sister, 12-year-old Nettie, learn that a man identified only as Mister wants to marry Nettie. Alphonso refuses to let Nettie marry, instead arranging for Mister to marry Celie. Mister, needing someone to care for his children and keep his house, eventually accepts the offer. Mister and his children, whose mother was murdered by a jealous lover, all treat Celie badly.
However, she eventually gets Mister's squalid living conditions and incorrigible children under control. Shortly thereafter, Nettie runs away from Alphonso and takes refuge at Celie's house, where Mister makes sexual advances toward her. Celie then advises Nettie to seek assistance from a well-dressed black woman that she had seen in the general store a while back; the woman had unknowingly adopted Celie's daughter and was the only black woman that Celie had ever seen with money of her own.
Nettie is forced to leave after promising to write. Celie, however, never receives any letters and concludes that her sister is dead. Shortly thereafter, Nettie runs away from Alphonso and takes refuge at Celie's house, where Mister makes sexual advances toward her.
Celie then advises Nettie to seek assistance from a well-dressed black woman that she had seen in the general store a while back; the woman had unknowingly adopted Celie's daughter and was the only black woman that Celie had ever seen with money of her own. Nettie is forced to leave after promising to write. Celie, however, never receives any letters and concludes that her sister is dead. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و یکم ماه نوامبر سال 2010میلادی
عنوان: به رنگ ارغوان؛ نویسنده: آلیس واکر؛ مترجم: امیرحسین مهدیزاده؛ تهران، نشر نی، 1388، در 306ص؛ شابک 9789641851288؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
این نویسنده میگویند: «جهالت بزرگترین دشمن ماست.»؛ ایشان میافزایند: (فکر میکنم «رنگ بنفش» با عشق در ارتباط است، ما نیاز به ارتباط داریم)؛
چکیده داستان: «سِلی جکسن»، دختر نوجوان سیاهپوستی است، که پدرش فرزندان او را به خانواده «ساموئل»ها میفروشد؛ خود او را نیز به «آلبرت جانسن گلاور»، مرد سیاهپوست بیوه ای واگذار میکنند، که در پی خواهرِ «سلی»، «نتی (بوسیا)» بوده است؛ او با وجود آزار و اذیت مدام «آلبرت» و فرزندانش، سعی میکند همسر مطیعی باشد؛ «نتی» از خانه ی پدر فرار میکند، و نزد «سلی» میآید؛ اما «آلبرت» او را بیرون میکند؛ «نتی» قول میدهد، برای «سلی» نامه بنویسد، ولی هیچگاه نامه ای به دستش نمیرسد؛ «هارپو (پو)»، پسر «آلبرت»، برخلاف رأی پدر، با دختری چاق و سرکش، به نام «سوفیا (وینفری)» ازدواج میکند، و وقتی «هارپو» بنا به توصیه ی پدر، او را کتک میزند، در مقابلش میایستد؛ «هارپو» همچنان به زورگوئیهای خویش ادامه میدهد، تا اینکه «سوفیا» او را ترک میکند، و بچه هایش را هم با خود میبرد؛
در همین حین «شاگ ایوری» خواننده، و محبوبه ی «آلبرت»، برای دیدن آنان میآید؛ «هارپو» خانه اش را به کافه تبدیل میکند، و «شاگ» نیز در آنجا برنامه اجرا میکند؛ «سوفیا» با محبوب جدیدش، «باستر (تیلیس)» باز میگردد، و کافه را به هم میریزد؛ «شاگ» به «سلی (گلدبرگ)» میقبولاند، که آنطور هم که فکر میکرده، زشت نیست، و عشق و محبت بین زنان را به او میآموزد؛ اما خودش مجبور میشود به خاطر پدرش که واعظ محلی آنجاست، کافه را ترک کند، و به ممفیس برود؛ «سوفیا» نیز به خاطر جواب رد دادن به یک زن سفیدپوست، که از او میخواهد خدمتکارش باشد، به زندان میافتد؛ «سوفیا»ی درمانده، مجبور میشود در خانه ی یک زن سفیدپوست، خدمتکاری کند؛ «شاگ» با همسر جدیدش، «گریدی (گیلوری)» بازمیگردد، و پی میبرد که «آلبرت» در تمام این سالها، نامه هائی را که «نتی» برای «سلی» فرستاده، پنهان کرده است؛ «نتی» در نامه ها نوشته، که همراه با «ساموئلها»، و فرزندان «سلی»، «آدام» و «آلیویا»، بهعنوان مبلّغ مذهبی، در آفریقا زندگی میکند؛ «سلی» به ممفیس میرود؛ «آلبرتِ» پیر و تنها، به رابطه ی «سوفیا» و «هارپو» حسادت میکند؛ «سلی» که خانه ی مادریش را (از مردی که فکر میکرد پدرش است در حالی که ناپدری اش بوده) به ارث برده، تبدیل به فروشگاه لباس میکند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
March 25, 2019
Before I get into this review I should let you know that the ONLY thing I knew about The Color Purple is that it was a movie in the 80s. I knew nothing about the plot or subject matter – except for a few impressions of seeing Oprah and Whoopi in promotional stills or videos over the years. Also, I try to avoid reading book summaries unless absolutely necessary as I feel they often give too much away. I felt it was important to say this because as I have posted statuses and comments while I was reading it, I felt like there was some shock that I didn’t know more about it already. So, now, how I was going into this book is all out on the table!
With that being said, this book was 100% not what I was expecting. This is not a good thing or a bad thing. It is just if you asked me to give a one paragraph description of what I was going to be reading about, I would have written down nothing nowhere hear this. I probably would have said something like “ex-slaves trying to survive in the post-Civil War South”. Well . . . spoiler . . . that is not what it is about.
I will next mention a phrase that kept going through my head as I was trying to prepare to write my review. I kept saying to myself that “I am not sure I can, should, or have any right to write a review of this book”. It is a powerful and raw story about subject matter that is important and that I don’t really know a whole lot about. Because of that, I cannot say for sure how I can possibly do a review justice. I decided that while I will do this review, it is important to remember that this book transcends any possible viewpoint I have of it.
One thing that I came out of this book surprised about is that it is more about women, women’s rights, and female relationships than it is about race. Don’t get me wrong, race is an important element, but the way that the men view and treat women and the way the women look at and treat themselves is the crux of this story. As mentioned above, this book is raw – not too extreme – but raw enough to warn readers that some of the subject matter is difficult and it may stir up strong emotions, especially if you are a woman.
While I found the book to be powerful and important, I am going with 4 stars because I struggled at times with the writing. I admit that this is just my preference and is all on me. Some of you may love the way it is written, but I found that it was the reason I found myself taking long breaks from the book.
This book is important to read for any person trying to make sure they hit all the classics. Also, people with an interest in historical fiction and women’s studies would benefit a lot from this story.
With that being said, this book was 100% not what I was expecting. This is not a good thing or a bad thing. It is just if you asked me to give a one paragraph description of what I was going to be reading about, I would have written down nothing nowhere hear this. I probably would have said something like “ex-slaves trying to survive in the post-Civil War South”. Well . . . spoiler . . . that is not what it is about.
I will next mention a phrase that kept going through my head as I was trying to prepare to write my review. I kept saying to myself that “I am not sure I can, should, or have any right to write a review of this book”. It is a powerful and raw story about subject matter that is important and that I don’t really know a whole lot about. Because of that, I cannot say for sure how I can possibly do a review justice. I decided that while I will do this review, it is important to remember that this book transcends any possible viewpoint I have of it.
One thing that I came out of this book surprised about is that it is more about women, women’s rights, and female relationships than it is about race. Don’t get me wrong, race is an important element, but the way that the men view and treat women and the way the women look at and treat themselves is the crux of this story. As mentioned above, this book is raw – not too extreme – but raw enough to warn readers that some of the subject matter is difficult and it may stir up strong emotions, especially if you are a woman.
While I found the book to be powerful and important, I am going with 4 stars because I struggled at times with the writing. I admit that this is just my preference and is all on me. Some of you may love the way it is written, but I found that it was the reason I found myself taking long breaks from the book.
This book is important to read for any person trying to make sure they hit all the classics. Also, people with an interest in historical fiction and women’s studies would benefit a lot from this story.
October 28, 2023
Beautifully Heartbreaking
The Color Purple is a heartbreaking story told through a series of letters, primarily from Celie to God. Celie is a young woman living in the South with few opportunities.
However, despite the tragic circumstances of Celie’s life, she still finds glimmers of hope and deep connection.
Reminiscent of A Fine Balance, The Color Purple perfectly blends hope and light with grim, shattering reality.
The Color Purple is a captivating, shattering tale with an echo of magic.
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The Color Purple is a heartbreaking story told through a series of letters, primarily from Celie to God. Celie is a young woman living in the South with few opportunities.
However, despite the tragic circumstances of Celie’s life, she still finds glimmers of hope and deep connection.
Reminiscent of A Fine Balance, The Color Purple perfectly blends hope and light with grim, shattering reality.
The Color Purple is a captivating, shattering tale with an echo of magic.
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
April 3, 2024
This book physically and mentally hit me. Like real hard. Some parts made me real uncomfortable but these things happened (even if it's fiction). I wish life wasn't so difficult for these women. So many sensitive, heavy issues are being discussed in this one. And I simply don't know from where to start.
The first page itself gave me a huge jolt. I just couldn't know how to continue reading the book. (I get really uncomfortable with rape scenes.) And yes, this book has some graphic contents of abuse of all kinds especially sexual and physical abuse. I met one of my most hateful characters to date. This particular guy made me hate such 'men' that I was physically hurting while reading about him. The rapist, the abuser, the criminal. Ugh!!!!! Ok. Calming down for the women characters' sake, the female characters seem so real and they represented well the hurt and the abuse they were facing in such a patriarchal society. Most like our main character, Celia, just live through all the pain and the ongoing abuse. A few like Sofia fight against it and actually do act on what they believe they must do even if she has to face some unwanted consequences. The other character, Shug. She is phenomenal. It's so damn liberating reading about such women living for themselves in the end no matter how broken and hurt they are.
What I get to learn from reading this book is that it's women who uplifts other women the best. It doesn't depend on the men to dictate our fate and lives. No matter how hurt we are because of the unavoidable circumstances in life, it's us women who needs to lift another woman in pain.
I love the chemistry between Shug and Celia as well as the sibling chemistry. It an all in all our women's story meant to give hope and strength. I actually like the perspective on how we see 'god' as.
This book is a little out of my comfort zone. I was in terror thinking about the abuse and the conditions these women had to live with. It's hopeful and beautiful. But I felt the pain so real and deep.
The first page itself gave me a huge jolt. I just couldn't know how to continue reading the book. (I get really uncomfortable with rape scenes.) And yes, this book has some graphic contents of abuse of all kinds especially sexual and physical abuse. I met one of my most hateful characters to date. This particular guy made me hate such 'men' that I was physically hurting while reading about him. The rapist, the abuser, the criminal. Ugh!!!!! Ok. Calming down for the women characters' sake, the female characters seem so real and they represented well the hurt and the abuse they were facing in such a patriarchal society. Most like our main character, Celia, just live through all the pain and the ongoing abuse. A few like Sofia fight against it and actually do act on what they believe they must do even if she has to face some unwanted consequences. The other character, Shug. She is phenomenal. It's so damn liberating reading about such women living for themselves in the end no matter how broken and hurt they are.
What I get to learn from reading this book is that it's women who uplifts other women the best. It doesn't depend on the men to dictate our fate and lives. No matter how hurt we are because of the unavoidable circumstances in life, it's us women who needs to lift another woman in pain.
I love the chemistry between Shug and Celia as well as the sibling chemistry. It an all in all our women's story meant to give hope and strength. I actually like the perspective on how we see 'god' as.
This book is a little out of my comfort zone. I was in terror thinking about the abuse and the conditions these women had to live with. It's hopeful and beautiful. But I felt the pain so real and deep.
September 28, 2019
”You got to fight. But I don’t know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive.”
When I think about “The Color Purple” the first few words that pop into my mind are: classic, banned and touchy subjects. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone with that. I mean it’s a book every reader heard about. Some of us had to read it in school, others saw the movie, and still others only knew that it’s one of those highly controversial books. I belonged to the latter category and even though I read a few reviews about it, I definitely wasn’t prepared for what I was about to read.
”I feel like something pushing me forward. If I don’t watch out I’ll have hold of her hand, tasting her fingers in my mouth.”
This book surprised me, but not in the way I thought it would. I expected abuse in a man’s world, the suppression of women and yes, even rape because my bestie warned me about that one a few years ago. What everyone forgot to mention was that this is also a story about strong women and two sisters that write each other for years. One of them is living with a violent husband and the other lives in a colony in Africa and deals with completely different problems than her sister overseas. To follow their lives was very intriguing and I enjoyed Nettie’s letters from Africa a lot. It was interesting to read how she lived and how the native people dealt with the missionaries that came to them.
”Who you think you is? he say. You can’t curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.”
Celie however had to deal with an entirely different set of problems though, and I can’t say how much I despised Mr. for his behaviour! He’s your typical run-of-the-mill obnoxious and violent husband and I just couldn’t deal with him. If I’d have been Celie I would have left him as soon as possible. But where to go if you’re a penniless woman without any family ties? Well, Celie certainly found her own way to deal with him and I’m very proud of her for standing up to him. It took time and courage but she eventually managed to do it. =)
What load of bricks fell on you? I ast.
No bricks, he say. Just experience. You know, everybody bound to git some of that sooner or later. All they have to do is stay alive. And I start to git mine real heavy long about the time I told Shug it was true that I beat you cause you was you and not her.”
A very important part of this book which was never mentioned in any of the reviews I read is the fact that there is a f/f relationship in “The Color Purple”. Yes, you read right: A f/f relationship between a lesbian and a bisexual woman! (At least I got the impression it’s a lesbian/bi relationship) Which aside from the violence and abuse is probably one of the main reasons this book is banned in so many countries and schools. In my opinion Walker made sure never to explicitly touch the subject but from the little you see, you can glean that they are in love with each other and have a sexual relationship. I know some people claim that there is graphic sexual content but either I read too much smut in my life (pretty likely! *lol*) or I have a different concept of graphic than the average person. (also very likely due to all of the smut! ;-P)
”He love looking at Shug. I love looking at Shug.
But Shug don’t love looking at but one of us. Him.
But that the way it spose to be. I know that. But if that so, why my heart hurt me so?”
If this would have been a modern book I would have been very unhappy with the bisexual rep, but since it’s an old one I decided to take it the way it is. No need to rant about it when I know that people had a completely different outlook on bisexuality back then. >_< Let’s just say I didn’t like that the bi character was represented as a rogue that only thinks with her loins. *lol*
Conclusion:
“The Color Purple” addresses a lot of sensitive issues and considering in which time it was written this was a pretty bold move. Walker doesn’t shy away from bringing up difficult topics though and instead decided to introduce us into the life of a huge family that works in its own way. It’s complex, it’s multi-layered and at times it’s tough to read, but if that’s your jam I can totally recommend this book to you. ;-)
”I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found It.”
____________________________________
I’m not entirely sure if it’s a good idea to read “The Color Purple” while reading “The Poppy War” as well, but I put them both on my book list 2019 and will have to return the latter one to the library soon.
So I guess if it gets too heavy I’ll just have to read a very fluffy and comfortable book in between. XD *eyes Carry On and Harry Potter* (Yes, I actually dare to mention them both in one sentence *lol* ;-P)
I know this book will address a lot of sensitive issues so I’m sort of prepared. Well, at least as good as you can prepare yourself for classics like this one…
All I know is that I was destroyed after reading “The Kite Runner”. Let’s hope the same won’t happen with “The Color Purple”. >_<
When I think about “The Color Purple” the first few words that pop into my mind are: classic, banned and touchy subjects. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone with that. I mean it’s a book every reader heard about. Some of us had to read it in school, others saw the movie, and still others only knew that it’s one of those highly controversial books. I belonged to the latter category and even though I read a few reviews about it, I definitely wasn’t prepared for what I was about to read.
”I feel like something pushing me forward. If I don’t watch out I’ll have hold of her hand, tasting her fingers in my mouth.”
This book surprised me, but not in the way I thought it would. I expected abuse in a man’s world, the suppression of women and yes, even rape because my bestie warned me about that one a few years ago. What everyone forgot to mention was that this is also a story about strong women and two sisters that write each other for years. One of them is living with a violent husband and the other lives in a colony in Africa and deals with completely different problems than her sister overseas. To follow their lives was very intriguing and I enjoyed Nettie’s letters from Africa a lot. It was interesting to read how she lived and how the native people dealt with the missionaries that came to them.
”Who you think you is? he say. You can’t curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all.”
Celie however had to deal with an entirely different set of problems though, and I can’t say how much I despised Mr. for his behaviour! He’s your typical run-of-the-mill obnoxious and violent husband and I just couldn’t deal with him. If I’d have been Celie I would have left him as soon as possible. But where to go if you’re a penniless woman without any family ties? Well, Celie certainly found her own way to deal with him and I’m very proud of her for standing up to him. It took time and courage but she eventually managed to do it. =)
What load of bricks fell on you? I ast.
No bricks, he say. Just experience. You know, everybody bound to git some of that sooner or later. All they have to do is stay alive. And I start to git mine real heavy long about the time I told Shug it was true that I beat you cause you was you and not her.”
A very important part of this book which was never mentioned in any of the reviews I read is the fact that there is a f/f relationship in “The Color Purple”. Yes, you read right: A f/f relationship between a lesbian and a bisexual woman! (At least I got the impression it’s a lesbian/bi relationship) Which aside from the violence and abuse is probably one of the main reasons this book is banned in so many countries and schools. In my opinion Walker made sure never to explicitly touch the subject but from the little you see, you can glean that they are in love with each other and have a sexual relationship. I know some people claim that there is graphic sexual content but either I read too much smut in my life (pretty likely! *lol*) or I have a different concept of graphic than the average person. (also very likely due to all of the smut! ;-P)
”He love looking at Shug. I love looking at Shug.
But Shug don’t love looking at but one of us. Him.
But that the way it spose to be. I know that. But if that so, why my heart hurt me so?”
If this would have been a modern book I would have been very unhappy with the bisexual rep, but since it’s an old one I decided to take it the way it is. No need to rant about it when I know that people had a completely different outlook on bisexuality back then. >_< Let’s just say I didn’t like that the bi character was represented as a rogue that only thinks with her loins. *lol*
Conclusion:
“The Color Purple” addresses a lot of sensitive issues and considering in which time it was written this was a pretty bold move. Walker doesn’t shy away from bringing up difficult topics though and instead decided to introduce us into the life of a huge family that works in its own way. It’s complex, it’s multi-layered and at times it’s tough to read, but if that’s your jam I can totally recommend this book to you. ;-)
”I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found It.”
____________________________________
I’m not entirely sure if it’s a good idea to read “The Color Purple” while reading “The Poppy War” as well, but I put them both on my book list 2019 and will have to return the latter one to the library soon.
So I guess if it gets too heavy I’ll just have to read a very fluffy and comfortable book in between. XD *eyes Carry On and Harry Potter* (Yes, I actually dare to mention them both in one sentence *lol* ;-P)
I know this book will address a lot of sensitive issues so I’m sort of prepared. Well, at least as good as you can prepare yourself for classics like this one…
All I know is that I was destroyed after reading “The Kite Runner”. Let’s hope the same won’t happen with “The Color Purple”. >_<
July 26, 2020
Que libro más duro, tierno, difícil y maravilloso.
Me ha encantado. Es una lectura rápida pero inolvidable sobre Celie y Nettie, dos hermanas que son separadas de niñas tras la muerte de su madre. La voz de Celie no se me quita de la cabeza, es tan personal e impactante... Cuenta con una claridad absoluta lo que significaba ser mujer negra y pobre a principios del siglo XX en el sur de los Estados Unidos.
Probablemente lo que más me ha gustado haya sido la evolución de los personajes (y no solo de la protagonista), y me quedo con varios personajes, pero especialmente con Celie y Sofia, dos mujeres tan diferentes como impresionates.
Si aún no lo habéis leído os animo muchísimo a que lo hagáis, aunque lo parezca, no me ha resultado un valle de lágrimas (como si me resultó la película... aunque me gustara mucho), y a pesar del sufrimiento siempre hay lugar para la alegría, los sueños y la esperanza.
Me ha encantado. Es una lectura rápida pero inolvidable sobre Celie y Nettie, dos hermanas que son separadas de niñas tras la muerte de su madre. La voz de Celie no se me quita de la cabeza, es tan personal e impactante... Cuenta con una claridad absoluta lo que significaba ser mujer negra y pobre a principios del siglo XX en el sur de los Estados Unidos.
Probablemente lo que más me ha gustado haya sido la evolución de los personajes (y no solo de la protagonista), y me quedo con varios personajes, pero especialmente con Celie y Sofia, dos mujeres tan diferentes como impresionates.
Si aún no lo habéis leído os animo muchísimo a que lo hagáis, aunque lo parezca, no me ha resultado un valle de lágrimas (como si me resultó la película... aunque me gustara mucho), y a pesar del sufrimiento siempre hay lugar para la alegría, los sueños y la esperanza.
November 5, 2020
I'm in awe of the magnificent depths within "The Color Purple." Would rather debunk Great American Novel contenders such as Great Gatsby, On the Road, or Huckleberry Finn with this Definitive American classic novel. The steel-strong bonds of family, the global importance of friendship, and the ever-mystical soul-defining actions of sisterhood are all immortal themes that are drawn in lush exquisite, sometimes brutal, hues (the purple of a field of violets, the purple of a deepening bruise). In terms of the epistolary novel (my personal faves include "Dracula" & "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" ...& now this one), the frailty of letters and the lost art of letter writing carry implicit feelings. They ground the novel, and, contradiction, make it an ethereal work of art. The writer is a true magician that even out-Faulkners Faulkner in her book filled with light and grace.
P.S. the film tries its damn hardest to keep up with Walker's unique characters and their respective vernacular. For me, the line uttered by Adam at the end of the movie ("I want to know you, mama.") never fails to make me bawl.
P.S. the film tries its damn hardest to keep up with Walker's unique characters and their respective vernacular. For me, the line uttered by Adam at the end of the movie ("I want to know you, mama.") never fails to make me bawl.
February 10, 2017
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”
4.5/5 stars
The colour purple was devastating from page one. I started reading this without knowing much about it. I knew it had a POC main character, heard that it was about women's rights and about abuse. I heard it was a great book. But I still did not expect this.
The main character's life is miserable. I still don't understand how she made it through to a certain point, because if it were me in her skin, I probably wouldn't have been able to stay in that skin for long.
It was not an easy book, neither plot nor writing were exactly motivating. But I found so much hope in the first, and even happiness in the last chapters, that I just came to love it.
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4.5/5 stars
The colour purple was devastating from page one. I started reading this without knowing much about it. I knew it had a POC main character, heard that it was about women's rights and about abuse. I heard it was a great book. But I still did not expect this.
The main character's life is miserable. I still don't understand how she made it through to a certain point, because if it were me in her skin, I probably wouldn't have been able to stay in that skin for long.
It was not an easy book, neither plot nor writing were exactly motivating. But I found so much hope in the first, and even happiness in the last chapters, that I just came to love it.
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January 14, 2024
This book was extraordinary. It’s been a while since a book really touched me and stirred up emotions. This one did. Walker writes so beautifully, every paragraph a delight. I will gladly reread the book, just to feel goosebumps from another metaphor that hit home. In addition to her superb writing skills, the story was unforgettable.
November 6, 2017
A Masterpiece!
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
From the time I first read this book (I have read this many times), it has been a favorite. Walker has brought to life the story of two sisters: one a missionary in Africa and one a young abuse wife living in the south. Even though there is distance between them, there is great love, great devotion and great compassion. This book spans years as we see their lives.
Celie writes letters to God and her sister. She has been abused most of her life. First by her very father who abused and raped her and gave away her/their babies. Then she is given to a man who who abuses her. This is not an easy book to read. It is sad and heartbreaking at times. There is rape, abuse, sexism, etc. There is also hope, strength, resilience, love and yes, happiness.
Celie finally finds herself after being introduced to a couple of strong women. She eventually finds her inner voice and is able to find her self and her strength. But the path to getting there is long and full of obstacles - some of which are inside Celie. Through her path of finding her inner voice, she finally fells what it is like to love and be loved. To find a sense of belonging. To find God. To have the capacity to forgive. To hold onto hope and to hold it close and cherish it. In this character with see the triumph of the human spirit. Against the odds, she is able to be strong.
Walker's writing is haunting, powerful and beautiful.
I love his dear eyes in which the vulnerability and beauty of his soul can be plainly read.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Yes, this book is hard to read at times, but there is beauty here. Such beautiful writing. The dialect may be difficult at first but keep reading, you will get the hang of it. This book is so worth the effort.
Highly Recommend.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
From the time I first read this book (I have read this many times), it has been a favorite. Walker has brought to life the story of two sisters: one a missionary in Africa and one a young abuse wife living in the south. Even though there is distance between them, there is great love, great devotion and great compassion. This book spans years as we see their lives.
Celie writes letters to God and her sister. She has been abused most of her life. First by her very father who abused and raped her and gave away her/their babies. Then she is given to a man who who abuses her. This is not an easy book to read. It is sad and heartbreaking at times. There is rape, abuse, sexism, etc. There is also hope, strength, resilience, love and yes, happiness.
Celie finally finds herself after being introduced to a couple of strong women. She eventually finds her inner voice and is able to find her self and her strength. But the path to getting there is long and full of obstacles - some of which are inside Celie. Through her path of finding her inner voice, she finally fells what it is like to love and be loved. To find a sense of belonging. To find God. To have the capacity to forgive. To hold onto hope and to hold it close and cherish it. In this character with see the triumph of the human spirit. Against the odds, she is able to be strong.
Walker's writing is haunting, powerful and beautiful.
I love his dear eyes in which the vulnerability and beauty of his soul can be plainly read.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Yes, this book is hard to read at times, but there is beauty here. Such beautiful writing. The dialect may be difficult at first but keep reading, you will get the hang of it. This book is so worth the effort.
Highly Recommend.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
August 21, 2021
If I could give this novel all the stars in the world, I would. Truly transformative literature.
May 19, 2017
“I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found him.”
The Color Purple is a powerful book with an amazing cast of strong female characters, but in my opinion, it was 100 pages too short. I can certainly see how this book made such an impact by its discussion of (painful) topics and its feminist messages, but it was mainly the second half that brought this book down to its 3 star-rating.
The first half of this book was wonderful. I loved reading about Celie, Shug Avery, Sofia, and Mary Agnes (Squeak) and how each of them found the strength to stand up for themselves. Their attempts as black women to fight the sexism and (male) oppression present in their society are met with anger and a lot of protest, but the women all help each other to improve their lives. Alice Walker does an amazing job at weaving timeless feminist ideas together with themes like LGBTQ-culture, the struggle with domestic abuse, and female sexuality.
A running topic through the book is Celie’s relationship with God, who for a long time is her only confidant. Thanks to an important talk with Shug – one of the most important talks in this book – the author shows not only how racism and sexism has affected Celie’s image of God (as an old, white man) but also how ‘wrong’ it is to search for God in a church.
The second half of this book however, when Nettie’s letters from Africa take over and the narrative gets divided between Celie and Nettie, was when things started going downhill for me. The book changes from a coming-of-power story into an epistolary novel, which killed the story’s energy and realness. Because there is no sense of time in these letters, no conformation that the sisters receive each other’s messages. For all we know Celie and Nettie are writing these letters to themselves with each other in mind. So when the end of this book came, and we suddenly find out that ± 20 years had passed, I was shocked. When did time went by so quickly?!
And apart from the adventure described in those letters – an interesting tale about former African slaves returning to Africa and the culture clash that shows itself there – the story is told in an incredibly slow pace and without any vigor. Walker wants to make so many statements that Celie’s storyline gets drowned under the author’s messages about oppression, sexism, and racism. This way the second half of this book lacks the power that was so present earlier, making reading about Nettie’s missionary work in Africa and Celie’s sowing business in Georgia a drag for me.
So although I’m a great fan of all the female characters in this novel and how they all found love and happiness, the second half was a letdown. The story had no impact anymore and Celie’s ending was a little too good to be true (I especially disliked how she ended things with Mister).
I do, however, certainly recommend this story. Walker’s story is filled with excellent messages about feminism, faith, the power of sisterhood, fighting abuse, and learning how to stand up for yourself. I give this book 3 stars because I think the author overdid herself in the second half of the novel, but overall I found this a very powerful book.
The Color Purple is a powerful book with an amazing cast of strong female characters, but in my opinion, it was 100 pages too short. I can certainly see how this book made such an impact by its discussion of (painful) topics and its feminist messages, but it was mainly the second half that brought this book down to its 3 star-rating.
The first half of this book was wonderful. I loved reading about Celie, Shug Avery, Sofia, and Mary Agnes (Squeak) and how each of them found the strength to stand up for themselves. Their attempts as black women to fight the sexism and (male) oppression present in their society are met with anger and a lot of protest, but the women all help each other to improve their lives. Alice Walker does an amazing job at weaving timeless feminist ideas together with themes like LGBTQ-culture, the struggle with domestic abuse, and female sexuality.
A running topic through the book is Celie’s relationship with God, who for a long time is her only confidant. Thanks to an important talk with Shug – one of the most important talks in this book – the author shows not only how racism and sexism has affected Celie’s image of God (as an old, white man) but also how ‘wrong’ it is to search for God in a church.
“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.”
The second half of this book however, when Nettie’s letters from Africa take over and the narrative gets divided between Celie and Nettie, was when things started going downhill for me. The book changes from a coming-of-power story into an epistolary novel, which killed the story’s energy and realness. Because there is no sense of time in these letters, no conformation that the sisters receive each other’s messages. For all we know Celie and Nettie are writing these letters to themselves with each other in mind. So when the end of this book came, and we suddenly find out that ± 20 years had passed, I was shocked. When did time went by so quickly?!
And apart from the adventure described in those letters – an interesting tale about former African slaves returning to Africa and the culture clash that shows itself there – the story is told in an incredibly slow pace and without any vigor. Walker wants to make so many statements that Celie’s storyline gets drowned under the author’s messages about oppression, sexism, and racism. This way the second half of this book lacks the power that was so present earlier, making reading about Nettie’s missionary work in Africa and Celie’s sowing business in Georgia a drag for me.
So although I’m a great fan of all the female characters in this novel and how they all found love and happiness, the second half was a letdown. The story had no impact anymore and Celie’s ending was a little too good to be true (I especially disliked how she ended things with Mister).
I do, however, certainly recommend this story. Walker’s story is filled with excellent messages about feminism, faith, the power of sisterhood, fighting abuse, and learning how to stand up for yourself. I give this book 3 stars because I think the author overdid herself in the second half of the novel, but overall I found this a very powerful book.
“Man corrupts everything, say Shug. He on your box of grits, in your head, and all over the radio. He try to make you think he everywhere. Soon as you think he everywhere, you think he God. But he ain’t. Whenever you trying to pray, and man plop himself on the other end of it, tell him to go lost, say Shug. Conjure up flowers, wind, water, a big rock.
But this hard work, let me tell you. Man been there so long, he don't want to budge. He threaten lighting, floods and earthquakes. Us fight. I hardly pray at all. Every time I conjure up a rock, I throw it.
Amen.
December 31, 2023
2o23 review:
This was as good as I remember it being! I love Celie as a character so much and her story arc is incredibly moving. I do think the Nettie letters slow the pace of the story down quite a bit and take away some of the power of Celie's story, but I understand what Alice Walker was doing with that section. Regardless, I love the ending and can't wait to see the movie musical adaptation soon! In my 2018 review I said I need to watch the original movie as well, which I sadly never did. Oops.
2018 review:
This was fantastic. I am so glad I finally read it after having known about it for so long and never having been assigned it in school. It’s beautifully written. Celie’s voice is so strong and all of the characters are well developed. I especially loved Shug and Sofia. And now I’ve got to see the film.
This was as good as I remember it being! I love Celie as a character so much and her story arc is incredibly moving. I do think the Nettie letters slow the pace of the story down quite a bit and take away some of the power of Celie's story, but I understand what Alice Walker was doing with that section. Regardless, I love the ending and can't wait to see the movie musical adaptation soon! In my 2018 review I said I need to watch the original movie as well, which I sadly never did. Oops.
2018 review:
This was fantastic. I am so glad I finally read it after having known about it for so long and never having been assigned it in school. It’s beautifully written. Celie’s voice is so strong and all of the characters are well developed. I especially loved Shug and Sofia. And now I’ve got to see the film.
November 30, 2023
Preface: Whatever else The Color Purple has been taken for during the years since its publication, it remains for me the theological work examining the journey from the religious back to the spiritual that I spent much of my adult life, prior to writing it, seeking to avoid.oh to have had three 5 star reads in a roll!!! 🤯🤯😭 is this a sign for me to read more classics/historical fiction?? 😮💨❤️
- Alice Walker, the author
I'm going to have to make time to watch the tv adaptation as well and not only because it stars Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah 😩. This hits every spot, I was literally crying through my laughter.
Celie, an African American girl, only 14 yr/old has seen poverty, domestic violence and an
Nettie, Celie's sister runs away and stays with Celie when Celie finally leaves home, but Mister, a man Celie's father sold her to makes advances toward Nettie. Celie tells her to seek help from a well-dressed black woman she saw in town. Nettie promises to write but never does, and Celie concludes that she is dead.
Mister's son Harpo falls in love with an assertive girl named Sofia, gets her pregnant and marries her. Celie is impressed by Sofia's self-esteem but in another moment of envy, advises Harpo to beat her. Sofia fights back and confronts Celie, who apologizes and they became friends.
The plot then splits exploring Celie's adjustments to life as she knows it through many changes especially when she finds decades of letters from Nettie that Mister has hidden from her. These letters detail Nettie's journey through religious self-discovery and missionary work in Africa. As well as Sophia struggles with accepting intense normalized misogyny and racism.
Celie begins to write back to Nettie and realizes with immerse relief that not much was lost in she and her sister's relationship. Through these beautiful, emotional letters we learn about the sisters' challenges, new found knowledge and loves. It will leave you hopeful that the sisters will reunite in the end.
Because of work, I had to switch to the audiobook at some point. That is where I picked up the preface as the narration was done by Alice Walker, herself and it made a fantastic and teary experience.
***
don't ask, i'm on a quest to break my own heart 🥺💜
Find The color purple on Amazon/Kindle/Audible 💜
December 22, 2020
I feel like a bit of grinch for not liking this book, but, it is what it is, and I'm obviously not going to hold back. I really don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. I'll start with the format. I took an immediate dislike to the letter style format of this book. The dialect was flat, and I noticed that became increasingly so, as the book went on.
Regardless of the fact that as the story developed, it moved on to letters between the characters instead. I do think this added in my detachment from the characters. None of the characters were likeable. I mean, they all lacked depth of any sort, and made one feel incredibly cast off from the story. I'm not even going to dwell on what I thought of Shrug Avery.
Nearing the end, I was practically counting pages, tremendously eager to finish, and that is never a good sign.
I think the book had the potential to be good, and despite it gaining an award, it just didn't resonate with me. I'm just happy that I didn't spend money on it.
Regardless of the fact that as the story developed, it moved on to letters between the characters instead. I do think this added in my detachment from the characters. None of the characters were likeable. I mean, they all lacked depth of any sort, and made one feel incredibly cast off from the story. I'm not even going to dwell on what I thought of Shrug Avery.
Nearing the end, I was practically counting pages, tremendously eager to finish, and that is never a good sign.
I think the book had the potential to be good, and despite it gaining an award, it just didn't resonate with me. I'm just happy that I didn't spend money on it.
August 2, 2020
El color púrpura es uno de los libros que más años llevaban en mi lista de pendientes. Siempre me pasa que cuando un libro tiene mucha fama y una crítica muy positiva, me debato entre la curiosidad y el miedo, de ahí que haya tardado tanto en animarme a leer esta joyita, que ya a día de hoy podemos considerar un clásico. Una obra epistolar que te absorbe desde la primera carta hasta la última.
Celie y Nettie son dos hermanas que nos contarán la historia a través de las cartas que se enviarán la una a la otra durante décadas. Celie, la mayor, después de ser violada por su padre continuamente y de parir dos hijos que le quitarán, será obligada a casarse con un pretendiente de su hermana. Por otra parte, Nettie huirá del hogar familiar y su camino se separará del de su hermana. No quiero contar mucho de la trama, porque es de esas historias donde cada detalle cuenta, cada palabra y cada frase son una delicia que hay que ir descubriendo poco a poco.
De lo que si quiero hablar son de los personajes. ¡Vaya maravilla de personajes! Y, sobre todo, los personajes femeninos. Todas son mujeres fuertes, que tienen que luchar en un mundo machista, además de racista, que consigue colocar a la mujer negra en la parte más baja de la pirámide. Lejos de conformarse, estas mujeres luchan por sobrevivir y ser tratadas como iguales, en un mundo que no se lo pone fácil. Y lo más importante, luchan juntas. Este libro destila sororidad en todas sus páginas. Y fue publicado en 1982, un ejemplo que la época en la que se publica un libro, no justifica según que ideales anticuados.
Voy a entrar un poquito más en detalle con los personajes femeninos, y en primer lugar nos encontramos con Celie, la gran protagonista. Celie sufré una gran evolución durante las páginas de la novela, pasando de niña sumisa, a mujer rebelde que lucha porque nunca más ningún hombre la controle. Nettie, mucho más rebelde desde pequeña, tiene claro esto desde el inicio y su personalidad la llevará a vivir una vida muy diferente. Sofia es uno de los personajes más interesantes de la obra, su fortaleza y su vitalidad son castigados duramente, pero aún así, sigue adelante siempre. Squeak, una joven mujer insegura e inicialmente débil, dará un giro a todo esto gracias a la ayuda y el apoyo del resto de mujeres. Y por último, pero no menos importante, Shug Avery, una mujer que se dedica al espectáculo, acosada por las críticas del puritanismo religioso. Es la demostración perfecta de mujer fuerte que vive su vida sin importar lo que digan los demás. Shug es un personaje enorme. Lo dicho, esta novela tiene una gran riqueza en personajes femeninos.
No menciono a los personajes masculinos, aunque hay varios, porque realmente todos pecan de ese machismo tan arraigado, algunos de una manera más sutil, otros de una manera más agresiva, pero todos juegan al mismo juego. Y, además, esta es una historia de grandes mujeres y son ellas las que destacan. En definitiva, una obra maestra que merece toda y cada una de las buenas críticas que tiene.
Celie y Nettie son dos hermanas que nos contarán la historia a través de las cartas que se enviarán la una a la otra durante décadas. Celie, la mayor, después de ser violada por su padre continuamente y de parir dos hijos que le quitarán, será obligada a casarse con un pretendiente de su hermana. Por otra parte, Nettie huirá del hogar familiar y su camino se separará del de su hermana. No quiero contar mucho de la trama, porque es de esas historias donde cada detalle cuenta, cada palabra y cada frase son una delicia que hay que ir descubriendo poco a poco.
De lo que si quiero hablar son de los personajes. ¡Vaya maravilla de personajes! Y, sobre todo, los personajes femeninos. Todas son mujeres fuertes, que tienen que luchar en un mundo machista, además de racista, que consigue colocar a la mujer negra en la parte más baja de la pirámide. Lejos de conformarse, estas mujeres luchan por sobrevivir y ser tratadas como iguales, en un mundo que no se lo pone fácil. Y lo más importante, luchan juntas. Este libro destila sororidad en todas sus páginas. Y fue publicado en 1982, un ejemplo que la época en la que se publica un libro, no justifica según que ideales anticuados.
Voy a entrar un poquito más en detalle con los personajes femeninos, y en primer lugar nos encontramos con Celie, la gran protagonista. Celie sufré una gran evolución durante las páginas de la novela, pasando de niña sumisa, a mujer rebelde que lucha porque nunca más ningún hombre la controle. Nettie, mucho más rebelde desde pequeña, tiene claro esto desde el inicio y su personalidad la llevará a vivir una vida muy diferente. Sofia es uno de los personajes más interesantes de la obra, su fortaleza y su vitalidad son castigados duramente, pero aún así, sigue adelante siempre. Squeak, una joven mujer insegura e inicialmente débil, dará un giro a todo esto gracias a la ayuda y el apoyo del resto de mujeres. Y por último, pero no menos importante, Shug Avery, una mujer que se dedica al espectáculo, acosada por las críticas del puritanismo religioso. Es la demostración perfecta de mujer fuerte que vive su vida sin importar lo que digan los demás. Shug es un personaje enorme. Lo dicho, esta novela tiene una gran riqueza en personajes femeninos.
No menciono a los personajes masculinos, aunque hay varios, porque realmente todos pecan de ese machismo tan arraigado, algunos de una manera más sutil, otros de una manera más agresiva, pero todos juegan al mismo juego. Y, además, esta es una historia de grandes mujeres y son ellas las que destacan. En definitiva, una obra maestra que merece toda y cada una de las buenas críticas que tiene.
September 9, 2021
The Color Purple wasn’t bad and I understand its significance especially at the time it was published. However, I did not feel much and I felt indifferent towards the characters except maybe Nettie. The writing style certainly affected my experience, at first at least. I'm not an English native speaker and reading the heavily accented words was a bit challenging at first. It got better once I was used to it. It doesn’t mean this is not a good book by any means, I get why it’s beloved by many and “women empowering”. It has a powerful message and tackles many issues in society. But I kinda expected better?
I don't regret reading it but sadly, it didn't mean anything to me. After finishing it, I realized that it didn't leave anything with me and I'll be forgetting it eventually. Given the mostly positive reviews, I think everyone should read it and decide for themselves but I wouldn't be personally recommending it for someone looking for a "feminist" and enjoyable book. I understand why "objectively" it is beloved but subjectively speaking, it was okay and that's about it.
I don't regret reading it but sadly, it didn't mean anything to me. After finishing it, I realized that it didn't leave anything with me and I'll be forgetting it eventually. Given the mostly positive reviews, I think everyone should read it and decide for themselves but I wouldn't be personally recommending it for someone looking for a "feminist" and enjoyable book. I understand why "objectively" it is beloved but subjectively speaking, it was okay and that's about it.
July 9, 2014
"There is a way that the men speak to women that reminds me too much of Pa. They listen just long enough to issue instructions. They don't even look at women when women are speaking. They look at the ground and bend their heads toward the ground. The women also do not "look in a man's face" as they say. To "look in a man's face" is a brazen thing to do. They look instead at his feet or his knees. And what can I say to this?"
What a sad and splendid book. The Color Purple tells the tale of 20 years of Celie's life through her letters. A poor black woman whose father abuses and rapes her at the age of 14, Celie soon loses her sister as well as her independence after marrying "Mister." Only by meeting Shug - the most fierce, unapologetic woman Celie's ever encountered - and learning the truth about her sister does Celie start to move toward her reawakening, her self-acceptance, and her love for even those who have hurt her.
Alice Walker delves into so many important issues in The Color Purple. Even though the book focuses on a black woman oppressed in the first half of the twentieth century, a myriad of the behaviors and themes found within the book still apply to all women today. Not only does Walker weave in timeless feminist ideas, she also relates Celie's struggle to domestic abuse, lgbtq culture, the strength of sisterhood, and so much more.
My favorite concept in The Color Purple was the use of storytelling as healing. Celie gives herself a voice by befriending Shug and eventually writing letters to Nettie, and even the epistolary format of the book exemplifies the power of writing, talking, and sharing one's struggles. Whether it's a veteran with PTSD sharing their story with a therapist or an angry teenager writing on their blog, human connection and communication poses so many benefits, and Walker's book highlights that in the most wonderful of ways.
Highly, highly recommended to anyone interested in feminism, historical fiction, overcoming abuse, or any intersection of those topics. Definitely a classic I wish more people read.
What a sad and splendid book. The Color Purple tells the tale of 20 years of Celie's life through her letters. A poor black woman whose father abuses and rapes her at the age of 14, Celie soon loses her sister as well as her independence after marrying "Mister." Only by meeting Shug - the most fierce, unapologetic woman Celie's ever encountered - and learning the truth about her sister does Celie start to move toward her reawakening, her self-acceptance, and her love for even those who have hurt her.
Alice Walker delves into so many important issues in The Color Purple. Even though the book focuses on a black woman oppressed in the first half of the twentieth century, a myriad of the behaviors and themes found within the book still apply to all women today. Not only does Walker weave in timeless feminist ideas, she also relates Celie's struggle to domestic abuse, lgbtq culture, the strength of sisterhood, and so much more.
My favorite concept in The Color Purple was the use of storytelling as healing. Celie gives herself a voice by befriending Shug and eventually writing letters to Nettie, and even the epistolary format of the book exemplifies the power of writing, talking, and sharing one's struggles. Whether it's a veteran with PTSD sharing their story with a therapist or an angry teenager writing on their blog, human connection and communication poses so many benefits, and Walker's book highlights that in the most wonderful of ways.
Highly, highly recommended to anyone interested in feminism, historical fiction, overcoming abuse, or any intersection of those topics. Definitely a classic I wish more people read.
June 12, 2021
"Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved."
... irrespective of color, race, language, and appearance, everything wants to be loved. World will be a better place if just understand this one thing but sigh we all want something that we are not ready to give others.
... irrespective of color, race, language, and appearance, everything wants to be loved. World will be a better place if just understand this one thing but sigh we all want something that we are not ready to give others.
December 18, 2019
O Cúmulo Do Machismo
Já alguma vez vos ocorreu pensar sobre o Cúmulo do Machismo?
Pois bem, se lerem este livro irão chegar a uma fórmula mais ou menos assim:
É um marido maltratar a mulher com tal grau de brutalidade, que esta e a amante dele se tornam melhores amigas e ambas optam por vê-lo pelas costas, pirando-se juntas!...
Como corolário dessa misoginia extrema, a única mulher da vida de tal homem, passa a ser um fantasma feminino, com quem flirta ocasionalmente, para alguns passos de dança descontraídos!
Possivelmente, numa tentativa fantasiosa de auto-esquecimento! 😉
Hehe, já 'tou' a inventar!... A cena da dança com o fantasma fêmea não é daqui — é no filme! 😉
No livro, esse tal marido boçal apanha tamanho choque ao ver-se duplamente abandonado, que opta por reinventar-se um pouco! Bem... a verdade é que irá reinventar-se bastante mais que um pouco! Um 'man' que falha como marido e amante, tem muito trabalhinho pela frente, como é fácil imaginar!...
Além de ser um tratado sobre machismo, "A Cor Púrpura" versa também sobre a luta intemporal entre bem e mal, mostrando como a Força pende para o lado dos Sentimentos Nobres, como a Solidariedade, a Amizade e o Amor.
A Vitória pertence-lhes, pois são eles que cavam o Túnel da Libertação — aquele por onde se vai insinuando a Cor Púrpura da Vida 😊
Já alguma vez vos ocorreu pensar sobre o Cúmulo do Machismo?
Pois bem, se lerem este livro irão chegar a uma fórmula mais ou menos assim:
É um marido maltratar a mulher com tal grau de brutalidade, que esta e a amante dele se tornam melhores amigas e ambas optam por vê-lo pelas costas, pirando-se juntas!...
Como corolário dessa misoginia extrema, a única mulher da vida de tal homem, passa a ser um fantasma feminino, com quem flirta ocasionalmente, para alguns passos de dança descontraídos!
Possivelmente, numa tentativa fantasiosa de auto-esquecimento! 😉
Hehe, já 'tou' a inventar!... A cena da dança com o fantasma fêmea não é daqui — é no filme! 😉
No livro, esse tal marido boçal apanha tamanho choque ao ver-se duplamente abandonado, que opta por reinventar-se um pouco! Bem... a verdade é que irá reinventar-se bastante mais que um pouco! Um 'man' que falha como marido e amante, tem muito trabalhinho pela frente, como é fácil imaginar!...
Além de ser um tratado sobre machismo, "A Cor Púrpura" versa também sobre a luta intemporal entre bem e mal, mostrando como a Força pende para o lado dos Sentimentos Nobres, como a Solidariedade, a Amizade e o Amor.
A Vitória pertence-lhes, pois são eles que cavam o Túnel da Libertação — aquele por onde se vai insinuando a Cor Púrpura da Vida 😊
October 30, 2017
Wow such an amazing book! Although many parts were so difficult to read, so heart breaking, its a story that sticks with you. I loved when the story expanded to include Nettie's life as a missionary. Celie's courage to endure all the hardships and losses, including the hardest loss of her sister, makes many of today's problems seem so insignificant to me. This is truly a remarkable book that I highly recommend!
August 23, 2022
The Color Purple is a novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. Forty years later, it is still considered an important work of feminist African American fiction. The book deals with the struggle for empowerement and emancipation of an uneducated and abused Black woman.
The Color Purple documents the traumas and gradual triumph of Celie, an African American teenager raised in rural isolation in Georgia, as she comes to resist the paralyzing self-concept forced on her by others.
Celie narrates her life through painfully honest letters to God. These are prompted when her abusive father, Alphonso, warns her not to tell anybody but God after he rapes her and she becomes pregnant for a second time at the age of 14.
Celie subsequently begins to build relationships with other Black women, especially those engaging forcefully with oppression. Of note is the defiant Sofia, who marries Albert’s son Harpo after becoming pregnant. Unable to control her, Harpo seeks advice, and Celie suggests that he beat Sofia. However, when Harpo strikes her, Sofia fights back. Upon learning that Celie encouraged Harpo’s abuse, she confronts a guilty Celie, who admits to being jealous of Sofia’s refusal to back down, and the two women become friends.
More significant, however, is Celie’s relationship with Shug Avery, a glamorous and independent singer who is also Albert’s sometime mistress. Celie tends to an ailing Shug, and the two women grow close, eventually becoming lovers.
During this time Celie discovers that Albert has been hiding letters that Nettie has sent her. Celie begins reading them and learns that Nettie has befriended a minister, Samuel, and his wife, Corrine, and that the couple’s adopted children, Adam and Olivia, are actually Celie’s. Nettie joins the family on a mission in Liberia, where Corrine later dies. The letters also reveal that Alphonso is actually Celie’s stepfather and that her biological father was lynched. Questioning her faith, Celie begins addressing her letters to Nettie.
However, Shug later encourages Celie to change her beliefs about God. An emboldened Celie then decides to leave Albert and go to Memphis with Shug. Once there, Celie comes into her own and creates a successful business selling tailored pants. Her happiness, however, is tempered somewhat by Shug’s affairs, though Celie continues to love her.
The Color Purple movingly depicts the growing up and self-realization of Celie, who overcomes oppression and abuse to find fulfillment and independence. The novel also addresses gender equality.
Walker emphasizes throughout the novel that the ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings is crucial to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is completely unable to resist those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso’s warning that she “better not never tell nobody but God” about his abuse of her, Celie feels that the only way to persevere is to remain silent and invisible.
In Shug and Sofia, Celie finds sympathetic ears and learns lessons that enable her to find her voice. In renaming Celie a “virgin,” Shug shows Celie that she can create her own narrative, a new interpretation of herself and her history that counters the interpretations forced upon her.
Gradually Celie begins to flesh out more of her story by telling it to Shug. However, it is not until Celie and Shug discover Nettie’s letters that Celie finally has enough knowledge of herself to form her own powerful narrative. Celie’s forceful assertion of this newfound power, her cursing of Albert for his years of abuse, is the novel’s climax. Celie’s story dumbfounds and eventually humbles Albert, causing him to reassess and change his own life.
Throughout The Color Purple, Walker portrays female friendships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories. In turn, these stories allow women to resist oppression and dominance. Relationships among women form a refuge, providing reciprocal love in a world filled with male violence.
Female ties take many forms: some are motherly or sisterly, some are in the form of mentor and pupil, some are sexual, and some are simply friendships. Sofia claims that her ability to fight comes from her strong relationships with her sisters. Nettie’s relationship with Celie anchors her through years of living in the unfamiliar culture of Africa. Samuel notes that the strong relationships among Olinka women are the only thing that makes polygamy bearable for them. Most important, Celie’s ties to Shug bring about Celie’s gradual redemption and her attainment of a sense of self.
Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays. This blurring of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity, as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie and Shug.
The Color Purple documents the traumas and gradual triumph of Celie, an African American teenager raised in rural isolation in Georgia, as she comes to resist the paralyzing self-concept forced on her by others.
Celie narrates her life through painfully honest letters to God. These are prompted when her abusive father, Alphonso, warns her not to tell anybody but God after he rapes her and she becomes pregnant for a second time at the age of 14.
“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.”After she gives birth, Alphonso takes the child away, as he did with her first baby, leaving Celie to believe that both have been killed. When the widowed Albert proposes marriage to Celie’s younger sister, Nettie, Alphonso pushes him to take Celie instead, forcing her into an abusive marriage. Soon thereafter Nettie flees Alphonso and briefly lives with Celie. However, Albert’s continued interest in Nettie results in her leaving.
Celie subsequently begins to build relationships with other Black women, especially those engaging forcefully with oppression. Of note is the defiant Sofia, who marries Albert’s son Harpo after becoming pregnant. Unable to control her, Harpo seeks advice, and Celie suggests that he beat Sofia. However, when Harpo strikes her, Sofia fights back. Upon learning that Celie encouraged Harpo’s abuse, she confronts a guilty Celie, who admits to being jealous of Sofia’s refusal to back down, and the two women become friends.
More significant, however, is Celie’s relationship with Shug Avery, a glamorous and independent singer who is also Albert’s sometime mistress. Celie tends to an ailing Shug, and the two women grow close, eventually becoming lovers.
During this time Celie discovers that Albert has been hiding letters that Nettie has sent her. Celie begins reading them and learns that Nettie has befriended a minister, Samuel, and his wife, Corrine, and that the couple’s adopted children, Adam and Olivia, are actually Celie’s. Nettie joins the family on a mission in Liberia, where Corrine later dies. The letters also reveal that Alphonso is actually Celie’s stepfather and that her biological father was lynched. Questioning her faith, Celie begins addressing her letters to Nettie.
However, Shug later encourages Celie to change her beliefs about God. An emboldened Celie then decides to leave Albert and go to Memphis with Shug. Once there, Celie comes into her own and creates a successful business selling tailored pants. Her happiness, however, is tempered somewhat by Shug’s affairs, though Celie continues to love her.
“But I don't think us feel old at all. And us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt.”Following Alphonso’s death, Celie inherits his house, where she eventually settles. During this time she develops a friendship with Albert, who is apologetic about his earlier treatment of her. After some 30 years apart, Celie is then reunited with Nettie, who has married Samuel. Celie also meets her long-lost children.
The Color Purple movingly depicts the growing up and self-realization of Celie, who overcomes oppression and abuse to find fulfillment and independence. The novel also addresses gender equality.
Walker emphasizes throughout the novel that the ability to express one’s thoughts and feelings is crucial to developing a sense of self. Initially, Celie is completely unable to resist those who abuse her. Remembering Alphonso’s warning that she “better not never tell nobody but God” about his abuse of her, Celie feels that the only way to persevere is to remain silent and invisible.
In Shug and Sofia, Celie finds sympathetic ears and learns lessons that enable her to find her voice. In renaming Celie a “virgin,” Shug shows Celie that she can create her own narrative, a new interpretation of herself and her history that counters the interpretations forced upon her.
Gradually Celie begins to flesh out more of her story by telling it to Shug. However, it is not until Celie and Shug discover Nettie’s letters that Celie finally has enough knowledge of herself to form her own powerful narrative. Celie’s forceful assertion of this newfound power, her cursing of Albert for his years of abuse, is the novel’s climax. Celie’s story dumbfounds and eventually humbles Albert, causing him to reassess and change his own life.
“I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here.”Though Walker clearly wishes to emphasize the power of narrative and speech to assert selfhood and resist oppression, the novel acknowledges that such resistance can be risky. Sofia’s forceful outburst in response to Miss Millie’s invitation to be her maid costs her twelve years of her life. Sofia regains her freedom eventually, so she is not totally defeated, but she pays a high price for her words.
Throughout The Color Purple, Walker portrays female friendships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories. In turn, these stories allow women to resist oppression and dominance. Relationships among women form a refuge, providing reciprocal love in a world filled with male violence.
Female ties take many forms: some are motherly or sisterly, some are in the form of mentor and pupil, some are sexual, and some are simply friendships. Sofia claims that her ability to fight comes from her strong relationships with her sisters. Nettie’s relationship with Celie anchors her through years of living in the unfamiliar culture of Africa. Samuel notes that the strong relationships among Olinka women are the only thing that makes polygamy bearable for them. Most important, Celie’s ties to Shug bring about Celie’s gradual redemption and her attainment of a sense of self.
Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness, and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of such disparity between a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays. This blurring of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity, as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie and Shug.
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”Despite only being 40 years old, The Color Purple has been a staple of African American literature basically since its initial publication. It's a book that graces many curricula and reading lists. It's a book in which many a Black woman will find some solace. It's a book that deeply touched me, one that I would love to pass on one day.
October 3, 2016
Despite finishing this over a week ago, I have staved off from writing a review as I feel anything I could write would not do the sublime elegance and exquisiteness of this book justice. The characters and their emotions are displayed in a raw and unapologetic way, their stories are dynamic and compelling, their plights are austere and penetrating, and the writing is evocative and exalted. I urge anyone and everyone to read this hard-hitting, powerful and corporeal book as it has such an important story to tell!
March 21, 2018
What an incredible experience this is. It's such a hard book about persecution and yet it's also about redemption. The book starts off in the darkest of places and the light is shed more and more as the story goes on. This story is about the tough side of the human condition.
One of my favorite lines is and I paraphrase, "I may be ugly, I may be nothing but a woman, I may even be a bad cook, but I'm here. I'm here." You can feel the freedom in those words. This book is about the freedom of the spirit and about freedom. We can be enslaved to our gender, our color, our society, our nation and especially to our way of thinking. Freedom is possible from all those things. I think Miss Celie has to overcome all these.
Much of the movie, which I saw many times starting in the 80s follows the first 3/4 of the book. The book focuses on Celie's journey. It does not go into the bits about Africa and Nettie. I like that about the movie and yet, it did add something to the story. The climax to me is when Celie finally stands up to Mister and walks out of his house. That is the climax.
Each character has their own voice and the characters are very deep. The writing is superb. It changes as the characters grow and age. This story holds so much wisdom and experience. It is a spiritual experience and there is much philosophy and religion spoken of in these pages. I love how Alice talks about God wants to be loved as we want love. God is in every living plant and they all want our love and attention. Again, I paraphrase poorly and it is a lovely idea.
In the book, Celie leaves Mister and goes off to live with Sug. They have a deep relationship. I am so glad that Celie has a chance to know what love is. I would love it if no one ever had to suffer the way Celie did; it was terrible. I'm glad that Alice Walker could share the gift of what Celie learned with the world even being made up.
I can't believe it took me so long to read this. It touched me deeply. It is a powerful movie and it is a powerful Book. It ripples the truth like a wave in a pond going out into the world. I'm very thankful to have had the experience of this book and to see a completely different way of life.
One of my favorite lines is and I paraphrase, "I may be ugly, I may be nothing but a woman, I may even be a bad cook, but I'm here. I'm here." You can feel the freedom in those words. This book is about the freedom of the spirit and about freedom. We can be enslaved to our gender, our color, our society, our nation and especially to our way of thinking. Freedom is possible from all those things. I think Miss Celie has to overcome all these.
Much of the movie, which I saw many times starting in the 80s follows the first 3/4 of the book. The book focuses on Celie's journey. It does not go into the bits about Africa and Nettie. I like that about the movie and yet, it did add something to the story. The climax to me is when Celie finally stands up to Mister and walks out of his house. That is the climax.
Each character has their own voice and the characters are very deep. The writing is superb. It changes as the characters grow and age. This story holds so much wisdom and experience. It is a spiritual experience and there is much philosophy and religion spoken of in these pages. I love how Alice talks about God wants to be loved as we want love. God is in every living plant and they all want our love and attention. Again, I paraphrase poorly and it is a lovely idea.
In the book, Celie leaves Mister and goes off to live with Sug. They have a deep relationship. I am so glad that Celie has a chance to know what love is. I would love it if no one ever had to suffer the way Celie did; it was terrible. I'm glad that Alice Walker could share the gift of what Celie learned with the world even being made up.
I can't believe it took me so long to read this. It touched me deeply. It is a powerful movie and it is a powerful Book. It ripples the truth like a wave in a pond going out into the world. I'm very thankful to have had the experience of this book and to see a completely different way of life.
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