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ONE OF THE BBC ‘100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD’
‘A lush celebration of all that it means to be a black female’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
‘A story about Black women living in the intersections of racialized and gendered violence, who find liberation through community with each other. A brutal and beautiful novel’
Brit Bennett
‘Every single time I read this book, I walk away as a slightly better person than I was when I picked it up’
Tayari Jones
‘I think that The Color Purple was the first book that made me think that I could try to be a writer – or that made me aware that a young black woman from the South could write about the South’
Jesmyn Ward
‘I got the book and read it, in one day, when it came out. And then I went back, the next day, and bought every copy they had’
Oprah Winfrey
Sisters Celie and Nettie share the pain and struggle of growing up as African American women in early twentieh-century rural Georgia. Forced into an abusive marriage, at least Celie can offer Nettie refuge from their violent father in her new home – until Nettie catches the attention of Celie’s husband and is forced to leave and forge her own journey.
Through a series of letters spanning twenty years – first from Celie to God, then between the two sisters – they manage to sustain their hope in each other across time, distance and silence, in a triumph of resilience, bravery and ultimately, love.
‘A lush celebration of all that it means to be a black female’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
‘A story about Black women living in the intersections of racialized and gendered violence, who find liberation through community with each other. A brutal and beautiful novel’
Brit Bennett
‘Every single time I read this book, I walk away as a slightly better person than I was when I picked it up’
Tayari Jones
‘I think that The Color Purple was the first book that made me think that I could try to be a writer – or that made me aware that a young black woman from the South could write about the South’
Jesmyn Ward
‘I got the book and read it, in one day, when it came out. And then I went back, the next day, and bought every copy they had’
Oprah Winfrey
Sisters Celie and Nettie share the pain and struggle of growing up as African American women in early twentieh-century rural Georgia. Forced into an abusive marriage, at least Celie can offer Nettie refuge from their violent father in her new home – until Nettie catches the attention of Celie’s husband and is forced to leave and forge her own journey.
Through a series of letters spanning twenty years – first from Celie to God, then between the two sisters – they manage to sustain their hope in each other across time, distance and silence, in a triumph of resilience, bravery and ultimately, love.
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Reviews
A stunning, brilliantly conceived book . . . a saga filled with joy and pain, humor and bitterness, and an array of characters who live, breathe and illuminate the world of black women
The great irony about The Color Purple is that it transcends colour. To do that you have to be a magician or a genius. This book works on all levels, the political, the historical, the personal, the emotional, the spiritual . . . Not a word is wasted, every breath accounted for. We all know that this is one of the greatest books of all time.
A fable for the modern world
Alice Walker is a lavishly gifted writer
The Color Purple is a lush celebration of all that it means to be female, to be a black female and like the best of celebrations, it is an honest one. Alice Walker's honesty in this book is combative, relentless and redemptive. It is from this honesty that bitterness emerges, and yet the bitterness never blights the encompassing humanity of Walker's vision.I love that The Color Purple doesn't try to soften its blows but is also courageous enough to hold on to a wonderfully affirming faith in possibility, in forgiveness and kindness and hope.
The Color Purple is a work to stand beside literature for any time and any place. It needs no category other than the fact that it is superb
This made Alice Walker the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize. It's a fascinating but tough read because it deals with the abuse of women and children. Despite the brutality, it's filled with hope and optimism
A story about Black women living in the intersections of racialized and gendered violence, who find liberation through community with each other. A brutal and beautiful novel
She is one of the most gifted writers in her country
A unique blend of serenity and immediacy that makes your senses ache
A genuinely mind-expanding book.
One of the most haunting books you could ever wish to read ... it is stunning - moving, exciting, and wonderful