The Color Purple (Unabridged)
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4.6 • 117 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this novel about a resilient and courageous woman has become a Broadway show and a cultural phenomenon.
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
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.
The Color Purple 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-nominated Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the ground-breaking novel that placed Walker “in the company of Faulkner” (The Nation), and remains a wrenching - yet intensely uplifting - experience for new generations of listeners.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Women struggle to claim their power in Alice Walker’s iconic, gut-wrenching portrait of misogyny, abuse, and survival in the Jim Crow South. We follow the protagonist, Celie, as she endures trial after trial. She reveals all of this in letters penned to God and to her sister, Nettie, from whom she’s been separated. We found ourselves hanging onto Celie’s every word as Walker deftly portrays the pain of her submission and isolation. But there’s hope in her story, too, along with rich themes of empowerment. Narrated by Orange Is the New Black’s Samira Wiley, her voice seems to contain all the anguish, toil, and resilience of Black women in rural 1900s Georgia. The Color Purple offers a message of sisterhood and the human capacity for change.
Customer Reviews
Will Read Again
The Color Purple is a profoundly moving narrative that explores the resilience of the human spirit amid oppression and prejudice. Alice Walker's evocative prose and compelling characters make this novel a timeless masterpiece, addressing themes of love, empowerment, and the pursuit of one's own voice.
Difficult Read
I know this is considered a highly acclaimed piece of literature, but I struggled with the idea that an abuser suddenly transforms, shows empathy, and the main character seems to forgive and become friends. Nope. That’s not the way it works.