The Color Purple - Alice Walker

The Colour Purple is a provocative innovative tale of hope and struggle. It shall have the harshest of characters, bent at the mercy of their hearts. When reading the Colour Purple it is apparent that the novel was meant to enthusiast and excite emotions deep inside the reader. As a consequence I found myself sheering from the novel because of its powerful imagery and context but also being drawn strangely closer to its marvellous read. Celie is the main character to which the novel is built upon. She is a black woman who is without a voice not just in society because of her race but also in her home and those that frequent her. She is obedient to all ...  Read the complete review

I'm not at all sure why I decided to read this book, and having read the blurb on the back cover, as well as the first couple of pages of the book, I was expecting this to be a horribly depressing story of child abuse and the oppression of a black, uneducated woman. However- yes, there is a 'however', don't worry!- I persevered and was glad I had, as this is a cleverly written and ultimately uplifting story of an unlikely heroine. As mentioned, Celie, our protagonist, has a horrible upbringing and is then married off to a man she doesn't love, who beats her and treats her like she was nothing. Thanks to a woman named Shug Avery, who comes to live at the house ...  Read the complete review

Like many others, I have seen the Steven Spielberg film of The Color Purple a few times, and it is a powerful film, made more so by the amazing casting of Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Having watched the film, I decided that it was about time that I read the book which it was based on. I have just finished reading it, and it was such a powerful read, and had so much depth, I am not sure that I can watch the film now without mourning the lack of detail that is contained within the pages of the book. The Color Purple was published in 1983 world wide, and was subsequently awarded the Pullitzer Prize. On the surface, it tells the life story ...  Read the complete review

A friend recommended ‘The Color Purple’ to me. I hadn’t read anything by Alice Walker in the past so it was something different for me. ‘The Color Purple’ is seen as a best-selling modern classic. It won the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It has caused a fair bit of controversy due to the strong views it contains. The main character is Celie who is a black American woman. At the beginning of the novel she is fourteen. Her mother is mentally disturbed and her second husband is called Alphonso. Celie has a younger sister Nettie and several smaller siblings. When things start going wrong for Celie she begins ...  Read the complete review

Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for The Color Purple, and it was richly deserved. This book makes you feel angry, sad, proud, and makes you laugh while you read it. By the end of the book you don't feel sorry for Celie, you feel proud of her. The basic plot: Celie is a child when the book begins, and it is in the form of letters to God and to her sister Nettie. Her sister Nettie's letters later in the book tell how hard life is for Celie: she cannot talk to God becuse she is ashamed of her life, and must write instead. Celie is ashamed because her "father", who turns out not to be her real father, is raping her. ...  Read the complete review