Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Suicide Reviews: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

 The Color Purple 

Summary: 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.

Date Published: 1982
Number of Pages: 295
Rating: 5/5

I read this book as a part of Emma Watson's feminist book club, Our Shared Shelf.

This book starts out pretty bleak. On the very first page, we see the rape of Celie, a fourteen-year-old girl. She goes on to marry an abusive husband who beats her and treats her like a slave. But over the course of the story it takes on a more hopeful, optimistic tone.

Celie documents her life in a series of letters she writes to God. A devout woman, she tells him about her life, her hopes and dreams, her doubts and fears. But when she meets and bonds with a woman named Shug, she has a spiritual awakening and moves away from a patriarchal notion of God to a more personal and uplifting spirituality.

This is a deeply feminist novel with important themes of women's self-determination and liberty. I love how Celie goes from a timid, obedient wife to a fearless, independent woman. It was very inspirational to me and after I read it I wanted to ACOMPLISH ALL THE THINGS! I encourage every woman on the planet to read this book. And men should read it too.

I will say that the writing style takes a little getting used to and sometimes I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Still, this is a near-perfect novel and deserves to be called a classic.
 

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