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A review by znvisser
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Color Purple has been one of my mom’s favourite movies for years, so it’s about time I watch it (and then the upcoming release too of course); but then I couldn’t without first reading the book. So I sourced a pretty Penguin edition and finally got started.
This story does a lot of things and it does all of them really well. It’s full of complicated people, relationships and lives; of women gaining strength and wisdom with their years and some men trying (and some not); of exploration of faith and building community; and of (post-)colonial criticism slicing through it all.
In advance, I was wary of its form - through letters, but it worked out surprisingly well. And I'm also becoming more and more of a sucker for stories in which the real love story is platonic. This is such a rich story, and I can’t wait to see how it translates into films.
In advance, I was wary of its form - through letters, but it worked out surprisingly well. And I'm also becoming more and more of a sucker for stories in which the real love story is platonic. This is such a rich story, and I can’t wait to see how it translates into films.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Alcohol