The Color Purple

Very good book. Worth reading.

Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Harder to follow than the movie, but great story.

One of my favorites

Make a patchwork quilt and your life will be saved. Knit together the fragments of your memories and your old clothes, and not only will the resulting material exonerate you from the allegations of sexual incontinence with your niece and nephew's "father", whom you marry once his wife is dead, although she is not the children's mother, but also prove your genetic link to said nephew and niece,...more

Make a patchwork quilt and your life will be saved. Knit together the fragments of your memories and your old clothes, and not only will the resulting material exonerate you from the allegations of sexual incontinence with your niece and nephew's "father", whom you marry once his wife is dead, although she is not the children's mother, but also prove your genetic link to said nephew and niece, whose mother you kind of become untill they are in their 30s and you return them to their real mother, your sister. You will inherit a house from a man who is not your father, lose a house built of mud and no one will read your letters until years after you wrote them, but once they are found, they are put into reading order by the woman who is having sex with your sister as well as with your sister's husband - the man who tried to rape you before you left for Africa with the children who come back still as children despite being in their 30s, and the man who becomes your husband and his wife before she died.   hide

i wonder who has not yet read this book or seen the movie. as great a movie it was, i loved the book more. i especially like the talks with god and the part in the beginnings of the book talk about god and what he looks like, the racial context of it and the innocent and potent sentiment of it all. if you're white you can find god on your box of grits. lol... this not the statement but if you...more

i wonder who has not yet read this book or seen the movie. as great a movie it was, i loved the book more. i especially like the talks with god and the part in the beginnings of the book talk about god and what he looks like, the racial context of it and the innocent and potent sentiment of it all. if you're white you can find god on your box of grits. lol... this not the statement but if you read it i hope you can see this for what it means. i love alice walker   hide

Powerful, real, haunting book. The things that happen in the story are shocking to many, and easy for the reader to write off as just fiction. However, I found it to be so impactful because as a former social service worker, so much of the story is real in too many people's lives. Not the era or the specific abuses, but definitely the trauma. Well written, tastefully done, as much as can be with...more

Powerful, real, haunting book. The things that happen in the story are shocking to many, and easy for the reader to write off as just fiction. However, I found it to be so impactful because as a former social service worker, so much of the story is real in too many people's lives. Not the era or the specific abuses, but definitely the trauma. Well written, tastefully done, as much as can be with such a strong subject.   hide

I began this collection of letters feeling quite sick by the nature of the Celie's situation & heartbroken that this is the way people are sometimes treated. Her bravery & relationship with God, her admirable strength & courage helped me to not focus on the abuse she suffered & I was soaked in her hope for better things to eventuate. Initially I was put off by the writing style but soon I...more

I began this collection of letters feeling quite sick by the nature of the Celie's situation & heartbroken that this is the way people are sometimes treated. Her bravery & relationship with God, her admirable strength & courage helped me to not focus on the abuse she suffered & I was soaked in her hope for better things to eventuate. Initially I was put off by the writing style but soon I just heard Celie's voice & she became more endearing to me with every page- I couldn't put it down towards the last half as I just wanted to know! So much to celebrate in this story, the honesty in the characters & the simple pleasures in life & love... & bits of history, which I only had a vague notion about, came to light through the letters from Nettie. So many people you would feel privileged to know... Sofia's no-nonsense, determined self-belief, Shug's warmth & charisma... & you can't help but love Celie!   hide

everyone should read this book.