4.0
The Color Purple
ByPublisher Description
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband.
In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband's mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson's wife, Sofia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie's sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie's unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of all.
has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker "in the company of Faulkner" (
), and remains a wrenching—yet intensely uplifting—experience for new generations of readers.
The Color Purple
The Temple of My Familiar
Possessing the Secret of Joy.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Color Purple Reviews
4.0
“An American literary classic I wish I had read earlier in my life. Celie’s character development as a queer Black woman experiencing CA and SA from her teen years and onward is haunting and powerful. She finds purpose, strength, and confidence with Shug and freedom in herself. Celie needed someone, anyone really, to believe in her. Shug gives Celie the boost she needs to truly start living, but Shug cannot commit. But that’s totally ok, when the novel closes we are left with a Celie who can finally feel ok being alone and commanding her life. She may not be exactly where I as a reader hoped, but this was indeed the perfect ending for Celie’s story. A door closed but an entire garden of opportunities at her finger tips.”
About Alice Walker
Alice Walker (b. 1944), one of the United States’ preeminent writers, is an award-winning author of novels, stories, essays, and poetry. In 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel
, which also won the National Book Award. Her other novels include
,
,
, and
. In her public life, Walker has worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
Other books by Alice Walker
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