The Color Purple Collection: The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar, and Possessing the Secret of Joy

by Alice Walker

Three powerful novels by Alice Walker, beginning with her masterpiece The Color Purple, and following characters as they are drawn into critical confrontations with history


The Color Purple is Walker’s stunning, Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of courage in the face of oppression. Celie grows up in rural Georgia, navigating a childhood of ceaseless abuse. Not only is she poor and despised by the society around her, she’s badly treated by her family. As a teenager she begins writing letters directly to God in an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear. Her letters span twenty years and record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment through the guiding light of a few strong women and her own implacable will to find harmony with herself and her home.

In The Temple of My Familiar, Celie and Shug from The Color Purple follow the lives of a brilliant cast of characters, all dealing in some way with the legacy of the African experience in America. From recent African immigrants, to a woman who grew up in the mixed-race rainforest communities of South America, to Celie’s own granddaughter living in modern-day San Francisco, all must come to understand the brutal stories of their ancestors to come to terms with their own troubled lives.


Possessing the Secret of Joy portrays Tashi’s tribe, the Olinka, where young girls undergo circumcision as an initiation into the community. Tashi manages to avoid this fate at first, but when pressed by tribal leaders, she submits. Years later, married and living in America as Evelyn Johnson, Tashi’s inner pain emerges. As she questions why such a terrifying, disfiguring sacrifice was required, she sorts through the many levels of subjugation with which she’s been burdened over the years.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Ebooks, Feminism, Novels, Banned Books

834 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Noted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as The Color Purple (1982).

People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books reviewed seperately on goodreads.

4 solid Stars

Read on kindle

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three very different books. The Color Purple is a gripping story of the lives of black people living in the South. The characters are as varied as any other group of people. Walker makes them come alive. We feel joy and anger and sorrow with them when they are mistreated by white people. I give it five stars.

I could not get interested in The Temple of My Familiar. I did not read much of it. I would give it only one star.

Possessing the Secret of Joy is as powerful as The Color Purple, but it is a difficult read because it deals with Female Genital Mutilation. Again Walker makes her characters come alive, and they find joy at times despite the horrific treatment they receive just because they are women. I give it five stars as well, but warn the reader that the graphic nature of the book may be more than some would like to subject themselves to.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Color Purple - 5 ⭐️ I really loved how this was in a diary format and I loved the story of Celie and Shug.

Temple of my Familiar - 2 ⭐️ I found the timeline and character changes to be confusing and I didn’t catch on to whom I was reading about until a few paragraphs or pages in. The structure was off for me and I didn’t find a plot or connect with the characters. It was also rather long for what the story was doing.

Possessing the Secret of Joy - 4 ⭐️ not as confusing because the character names were laid out prior to the story we were catching onto. I felt like this one was rushed and the ending was disheartening. However I loved the sign they made for Tashi.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books just make you grateful for the privilege of reading them. These books are such classics and beautifully and powerfully convey such universally important messages that it's left me a bit speechless on how to review them. It's so important to understand the tragedies of history so that we can learn from them and not repeat them, but deep-seated and often unconscious foundations like racism and sexism, especially when combined, take so many years to make any progress. Stories like those of the women in Alice Walker's books: Celie, Shug, Nettie, Tashi, Olivia, Carlotta, Miss Lissie, Sophia, etc. tell such heartbreaking and yet empowering truths of the deep-seated discrimination and shame and damage shown to them. Ultimately there is always hope in shared love and understanding and respect, which is the goal we need to always strive for. I liked the Color Purple best of this trilogy as its message and characters are unique, powerful, and simple but deeply truthful. The Gospel According to Shug has some particularly excellent truth to it. The Temple of My Familiar I found to be quite meandering and quickly switching between characters so that it lost some of that clarity, but the Secret of Joy recovered it, even though its content was at times truly horrific. A trilogy I highly recommend and hope to remember.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

“...To trace what you can recognize in yourself back to them; to find the connection of spirit and heart you share with them, who are, after all, your United Front. For really, Suwelo, if our parents are not present in us, consciously present, there is much, very much about ourselves we can never know.”

-Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar

I finally finished The Color Purple Collection, and am glad I kept at it. I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents lately, and that line of dialogue between two elderly friends of Suwelo’s Uncle Rafe and Suwelo really caught my attention. Our relationships with those we love and who love us in return are really all we have in the world. So much of Walker’s writing is hard to read. It’s horrifying to think of people who are able to commit such atrocities against other people, and did so (some continue committing atrocities to this day). But one thing is abundantly clear about her storytelling: It is honest and real and true.

[Stevie Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think it was a good book, it was a little awkward at first cause celie was being raped from her dad, then she was given to another older man and wasn't raped but she didn't really like having sex with him. she also cooked and clean forcely by her husband,and she was forced to marry him and take care of his kids, but then it got really really good towards the end of the book when she finds out that Mr. had all of celie's letters from nettie. sofia was another character that i liked because she was independent and she wouldn't let a man tell her what to do unless it is something todo with her kids and or family and close friends.

[Audiobook Accomplice (Gillian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously—if you already have the first audiobook of the series read by A. Walker, you are TOTALLY going to wanna buy it again. Brava to Ms. Wiley for her narration of book 1!!! 5 star rating for book 1 only.
My Full Review

[Lori March · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection took a long time to finish. I kept getting lost with the random thoughts and flashbacks interjected with out some sign of what they were or not knowing if a character was simply thinking something or saying it from the lack of quotes. Not a happy read but touches on horrors and injustices that need to be acknowledged so they can be dealt with.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give 5 stars to The Color Purple, 3 to The Temple of my Familiar, and 4 to Possessing the Secret of Joy.

[Iva Riyadhus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I need some books OF Alice Walker about women

[Christopher Varney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read The color Purple, next book did not hold my interest...

[George Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and powerful as always

[Joe Brewer-Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because I love the movie adaption. It has extra touching moments that the film only touches on, so well worth the read even if you've seen the movie.

[isehami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books leave you with some sort of gratitude, privilege, smile and lots of questions.
This book is one of those few.

[Brandy]

very informative

[TEVONDA M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favs.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Color Purple 5 stars, the
Life of a woman who was never shown love, except by her sister. Growing into her own person, finding love with another woman, not because she's gay, but because that's who she falls in love with.
Raising herself up, creating a life
The second one sucked so bad I gave up. No idea what it's about. Made it to 20%.

[Dee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenging

If you're looking for a fast, easy read, better look elsewhere. This collection will force you to think. It will challenge you to examine much you've always assumed to be true. Yet why should we expect less from anybody so intent on giving everything she's got to reform us all?

[Xi Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. It just involves so many topics and balanced well. The emotions are suppressed at first, Celie hold herself all the time. Then she came to life with the power. Women are soft and gentle and maybe submissive, but also got the strength to fight, to pursue their life, to breakdown the barriers on their way. Love the language style of the book.

[Robin Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read The Color Purple, and that was after seeing the new movie (never saw original). The book was very good, much better than the movie.

[Ijeoma Eboh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought The Color Purple was good... Until I read Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy. All powerful stories in different ways.

[Hallie Schiefelbein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the color purple and oh boy was it amazing.

[JANETTE GARCIA · Rating 5 out of 5]

".

WOW! I couldn't stop reading. This collection of writings touches the heart of any woman, regardless of age, race, or nationality. And opened my eyes to the suffering of women who have survived this horrifying "procedure