Reviews

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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jovanas_cloud's review against another edition

3.0

I'm very much on the fence with this whole book. I can't say I enjoyed every second of it, but I can't say I hated it either.

I think it does tackle many problems of the African American community and for the first time, at least for me, we get a day (or years) with Africans and problems they face by staying in Africa. For example, I think Alice did an amazing job showing how oppressed black women are even by black men, such as rape, verbal and physical abuse. And on the other spectrum, there are Africans who are battling all these white people buying their land, villages and destroying all their resources for rubber trees. African women, too, are oppressed by African men. They are still considered housewives, they are not to be sent to school, because god forbid women are getting basic education. What is interesting to me is how no other side is better than the other, both are as oppressive.

Now, Shug Avery. I just can't digest her as a character. She was so bitchy to Celie, but then bonds with her until they're in a relationship for years but then leaves her for a 19 year old boy. I think she doesn't actually love Celie's husband, or Celie, or Germaine, she just loves attentions and loves receiving love, which is totally okay, but trying to make us believe she loves Celie just doesn't work well with me.

Another problem which I have with Celie's and Shug's relationship, or more so Celie's sexuality does NOT sit well with me at all. I understand being raped by your stepfather, and then abused by your current husband is something that makes heterosexual sex disgusting for you, but her being lesbian as a result of all of that??? I don't know, it's very weird since I interpreted Celie being fascinated with Shug before even getting to know her was just her standard of beauty, not in the romantic and sexual way.

Regarding the form, I don't mind the epistolary novel, I even like it, however, after the domestic drama in America, Nettie's letters just became dull and uninteresting after some time. Nettie as a character is also very uninteresting to me.

The ending was rushed to me and unsatisfactory. The last chapter is just them meeting and laughing about Tashi saying African people love bbq the most.

morgob's review against another edition

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5.0

Oh my goodness, what a book. I tried to read this book my freshman year of college--one of my friends let me borrow it--but I only got a few pages in before I had to stop. I just wasn't ready for it back then. This time around, I was able to get through it with ease, despite the horrible things that happen to the main character in the first bit of the book. God, what an emotional read. I was worried I would have to take breaks because of how heavy it was at times, but I flew through this in just a few hours today.
The main character, Celie, just broke my heart. This book reminded me of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings at times, because she was so young when those horrible things happened to her and she didn't completely understand them. But this book was just such a revealing one, an eye-opener to a completely different life than my own, and I learned so many things from it. The most prominent of those is just the utter lack of education for young girls at that time period. It shocks me to know how little they are taught, not just about their bodies but also history (though that part is easier to believe because I am well acquainted with the education system in America, and I can only guess how different it was back then). I think the thing that shocked me into realizing this was when Nettie remarked in her letter that she had no idea her grandparents, her ancestors, were slaves. I had kind of forgotten what time period they lived in until then, but that brought me whooshing back.

Spoiler

One of the things that really surprised me about the book was Celie's relationship with Shug. I guess partly I didn't expect it because of the time period (though it makes so much sense for Celie to love a woman, based on what was done to her by the men in her life), but really I was surprised in a good way because if anyone deserves love, it is Celie. I was so upset when Shug left her towards the end. But speaking of endings, I absolutely loved the ending! It was just so perfect and just what both sisters deserved.

I also loved Nettie's portion of the story. It was totally different than what Celie was going through, but it added more to the story. This is sort of where I can really appreciate the book for showing such different aspects of life as a Black person. She showed several different sides: Black Americans growing up in poverty, Black Americans getting in touch with their African heritage, Africans and native Africans who are both trying to keep their culture (and village) alive while trying to adjust to the world white people keep forcing on them, and, towards the end, Black Americans struggling with racism and trying to get white people to understand things from their point of view. Mostly, though, it is about Black women and how for so long (and still today) they have been powerless. I did really like, though, those women who totally took a stand and refused to do anything less than what they wanted (even though it ended very badly for one, at one point). And goodness gracious, there was a lot of wives and husbands leaving one another for other people, then coming back, then leaving again. Honestly, some of the characters got around quite a bit. Also, I absolutely love how the title ends up in the book. I honestly have had the same thought sometimes about the color purple. I love little moments like that.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I'm so glad I picked it up again. I'm definitely going to recommend it to my students in the future. One last thing I have to say: I love her pants!!