From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

Start date: September 1, 2020

Finish date: September 30, 2020

Discussion: CURRENTLY READING

Why we're reading this: Group pick Sept 2020 - Modern Classic/Popular
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What Members Thought

Aug 20, 2019 Allison boozy bookworm rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, classics, fiction, favorites, novels, african-american, women, paperbacks, relationships, literature

• 4/5 ⭐️ for the following elements:

1. I feel it reaches beyond African-American literature; it felt "important" in the canon of Western/American literature

2. Despite the difficulty of reading aloud African-American vernacular, the language is downright beautiful

3. The characters of Celie, Nettie and Shug Avery are examples of strong and powerful women, some of the best in literature

4. Beautiful representation of two women characters falling in love and exploring the physicality of said relation ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2009 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, format-print, fiction, source-library, f-general

This is a book that needs no introduction. In fact, I had no idea either what the book was about before starting it. I don't recall ever reading the synopsis, which I now read for the first time. The Color Purple is a book of letters. Celia is a black woman who is so ashamed of her life that she cannot even talk of it to God. So she writes to God instead. She starts writing at age 14, and chronicles her life for the next 20 years. Raped and abused by her father, she wants to prevent her sister N This is a book that needs no introduction. In fact, I had no idea either what the book was about before starting it. I don't recall ever reading the synopsis, which I now read for the first time. The Color Purple is a book of letters. Celia is a black woman who is so ashamed of her life that she cannot even talk of it to God. So she writes to God instead. She starts writing at age 14, and chronicles her life for the next 20 years. Raped and abused by her father, she wants to prevent her sister Nettie from the same fate. Eventually she gets married to "Mr. _____" (whose surname is never revealed). This man beats her, which she yields to, believing that it is proper for a man to beat his wife. In fact, she is so submissive, she doesn't ever protest.

Then she meets Shug, an attractive, independent black woman who has always been attracted to Celie's husband. Through Shug, Celie learns to express herself more and discovers her creative self. In Shug, she finds the friend, confidant, and soulmate that she never had. She also discovers that her husband has been concealing letters from her sister, who is in Africa on missionary work.

The Color Purple was a powerful read for me. I especially appreciated the authentic accent in which the story is narrated. Every chapter is a letter - mostly written by Celie to God. But once she discovers Nettie's letters, we get to read those as well. Nettie was the more educated of the two. Alice Walker has done a remarkable job in contrasting between the education level of the two sisters through the letters the sisters wrote.

I found that I could not put the book down. Celie's every letter was thought-provoking and complete in itself. Her innocence is haunting when she remarks about the way her husband treats her and how his children from his previous marriage don't respect her. And then when she meets Shug, her desire to be close to her is overwhelming. Shug, however, does not share Celie's enthusiasm. She trashes Celie's looks as ugly and refuses any help from her.

The two women slowly open up to each other. In finding their opposites in each other, they also find their complement. I was very enamored by the relationship between Celie and Shug. The Color Purple has other very interesting characters as well. Sofia, another independent woman, was the dominating person, both in stature and personality. She and her husband, Harpo, were very much in love and respected each other, until Harpo began to believe it a man's right that the woman obey him, failing which he has the permission to beat her. Through Nettie's letters, we get a glimpse into an African way of life, particularly the Olinkan tribe. I found these letters by Nettie very moving. Her happiness at meeting the native Africans is mixed with her disappointment that they don't exactly openly welcome her and her companions although historically they share the same origins.

One thing that I was aghast at is the casual relationship between the men and women, married or not. Although Celie and "Mr. _____" are married, Celie never minds him rekindling his love and attraction towards Shug. After Sofia leaves Harpo, he is quick to bring home another girl. One of Shug's husbands doesn't hide his interest in another girl. Reading about that felt worse than reading about polygamy, in a very weird sense.

In a nutshell, this book was a gripping read. The short-letter format worked very well in delivering a punch through not too many words. The voices of the writers are genuine and poignant. At the same time, it isn't depressing - rather it has so much of the positive human spirit on display. There are triumphs and disappointments, successes and failures, prejudices and retorts - a holistic read! ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Rianto Dermawan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

"...she aint fresh tho but spect you know that...….. you don't need a fresh woman no how. I got a fresh one in there myself and she sick all the time."

First I thought there are some mistype of words in this book,
ast , naw, git, newmonya, direar, two berkulosis , and a few more ...…but then I realize that what make this book so strong. It was expression of Celie, a young girl who being sent by the father for arranged marriage to a man, called Mr._____ . After her father rape the girl many ti "...she aint fresh tho but spect you know that...….. you don't need a fresh woman no how. I got a fresh one in there myself and she sick all the time."

First I thought there are some mistype of words in this book,
ast , naw, git, newmonya, direar, two berkulosis , and a few more ...…but then I realize that what make this book so strong. It was expression of Celie, a young girl who being sent by the father for arranged marriage to a man, called Mr._____ . After her father rape the girl many times and get pregnant two times, and the born baby taken over separated from her. The husband treat her not as a wife, but abused her. And separated with her sister, Nettie, the only one love.
What a disgusting story I found from the early pages of this book. This is the story like the letters for God written by a little girl with the very minimum schooling , belittled by men who 'sposed' to love her, instead of work work and work to serve the men, doing this doing that and …….

Do his business, she say. Do his business.
Why, Miss Celie. You make it sound like he going to the toilet on you.
That what it feel like, I say.
She stop laughing. .

Even though this book is written as if the compilation of all letters. At first from Celie to God and at the middle there are letters from Nettie to Celie telling her better life, working studying teaching and traveling even so. Despite of so little telling about the weather, the color of land , plants , bees, birds, sky, weather surounding the house and vicinity, but this book have a strong kind of engagement for the reader
What I mean by engagement is that the book enable dragging reader into deep imagination created by its words, which are limited and simple. That is why Steven Spelberg adapted the story to a film with the same title, and Whoopi Goldberg as Celie. The Director succeeded in depicting the Alice Walker's book through beautiful picture in cinematographic screen. Though its only have Oscar nomination for best picture , the reason is because more beautiful in the book rather than the film. By reading we can explore more imagination about life, the real picture of The Color Purple.

What the book say is : Slavery causing deep impact to humanity. People treated unjust, uneducated, witless, cruelty, inhumanity. There is no color only dark gloomy. But people with good faith, the pure heart to God will survive no matter what their religion. It gives bright color to their life.
There are so many books about this similar kind of story written and published. All the story to tell, to teach, to learn, through all places around the world, in whatever period and condition.
It's like nights and days, life is always rotating, the good the bad, morality immorality, yin and yang. It was like movies being created all the time since the technology helps creating the artwork yearned by people. But yet, once out from the cinema theater people all tend to forget and seeking another film.

God ain’t a he or a she, but a It.
But what do it look like ? I ast.
Don’t look like nothing, she say. It ain’t a picture show. ...more

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