Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

68 reviews

ryxuu's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I’ve read this for the first time at 23 years old and I feel like I’ll need to read it again every few years until I’m as old as Celie is when it ends. This is such a special book and Alice Walker is an essential voice. This is a story full of grief and sorrow, but even more than that it’s a story full of love and resilience and sisterhood and growth. It both empowers and questions in its discussions of faith, society, gender roles, cultural norms, and more. The text is so rich and filling and I devoured this book in just over a week because I was so eager to spend as much time with Celie and Nettie as I could. I felt so closely connected to them and only wish that I could have continued to be with them after the book ended. I will carry all of these characters in my heart with me for the rest of my life. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Grief

angelgo616's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I can see why this book is such a classic - and why it's so frequently banned. I was pleasantly surprised at how open Celie's letters were about her love and lust for Shug Avery, and how upfront all the black characters were about all the various ways racism manifested in their lives & white people made things that much harder for them. It felt like a manifesto for black queer women, in fiction form. I loved that the ending, after so much hardship was ultimately hopeful. I'm not usually a huge fan of epistolary novels in general, but the format worked well for this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

annilikesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

cosmicreader90's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

Wayyyy better than the movie in terms of truly understanding the things that were implied in the movie 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Amazing character writing, this book is hard hitting and poignant. 
The epistolary style works well, but the fact that the plot is a “slice-of-life-over-a-lifetime” made it a little bit meandering for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Gaslighting

nathelregel's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

One of the best books I’ve ever read. I want to have a discussion about this book with anyone and everyone. The amount of themes covered and what would hit others that I missed entirely, etc. this is my favorite classic I’ve read so far. I would recommend this book to literally anyone. I was 27 the first time I read it and I’d be interested in my thoughts re-reading it as a 50 year old. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

staceys_adventure's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

sandsing7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Colonisation

eagleshouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am in awe and in tears. what a life changing book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, and Colonisation