Review: The Color Purple

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I normally don't read classics because they just remind me of the ones I suffered through in grade school and parts of high school. The only reason I own this book is because at obscure used bookstores, I tend gravitate towards books I've heard of (instead of finding new books I could potentially be interested in). I'm so glad I got this!!!

The Color Purple is about a woman named Celie who has been raped and abused most of her life. She and everyone around her think very lowly of her until a famous singer named Shug Avery winds up in her home. Shug helps Celie deal with her past and present abuse, her confused sexuality, and her self-image. In The Color Purple, you get to see what a great change of character can occur when someone finally becomes loved.

The growth of Celie was amazing to read about, and I feel #blessed to be able to read this story. Literally the first page of this book is about her stepdad raping her. It only gets worse from there. She's beaten and given away to a husband who beats her even more. She also has to leave her sister, Nettie, which was the only light in her life at the time. Her children (from the stepfather) were given away, so she never gets to really know them. This whole first half of the book broke my heart. It was so amazing, after Shug coming along, seeing her grow more comfortable in her own skin. She became happier, too, which was very evident in the writing style of her letters to God (and later to Nettie).

"I am so happy. I got love, I got work, I got money, friends and time. And you alive and be home soon."

This start of a letter actually had me choking back a sob because I was just so happy for Celie. She deserves the world.

The writing was different, but not bad. First, the story is told in a series of letters from Celie (and some from her sister) to God, which initially had me hooked. There's something about books told in letter or diary form that intrigue me. They're a lot more personal and you get to learn so much more about the characters and what they're going through than even a regular, first-person story. Second, the writing wasn't perfect English. It was written sort of how the characters talked (ex. instead of "asked" it was "ast"). This made the book a bit more immersive, because the story may have been a lot different if I was just reading it in perfect English?? Does that make sense???

I would recommend this book to everyone. It does get graphic with the rape and other abuse scenes, though, so if those could be triggering topics, I'd stay away. But overall, the story isn't about the abuse; it's about overcoming abuse and sexuality and self-image. It's about finding your voice and finding love.

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