Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

62 reviews

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

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

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

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

Minor: Gaslighting, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Addiction

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

oonareads's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.0

Thematically this is a really good book; however, narratively, it's not as strong as I expected it to be. The way Walker has chosen to frame the story creates both a slight emotional distance from the characters and a very narrow window through which the reader can view the events taking place. The timeline is a little hard to follow because the story dips in and out without any acknowledgement from Celie of how much time has passed, and any events which primarily center the side characters are glossed over because she’s not directly involved. I also had some smaller issues with Walker’s style (For example, I find her approach to sex to be really unpleasant to read), and all these issues combined detracted from my enjoyment of the book a bit. That being said, the ideas and emotions at the heart of this are excellent, and that rock solid core carried this book through some of the rougher patches. All in all, it wasn’t quite as good as I wanted it to be, but I do understand why it’s a modern classic and would recommend it to anyone interested. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Incest, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Bullying, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Child death

bronzestars's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Classism

Moderate: Infertility, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

sarah3liza's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Racism, Incest, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Drug use, and Torture

Minor: Death

always_scrolling's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

A stunning read on the lived experience of being a Black woman in America. A must read for any and everyone 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

moncdls's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Incest

Minor: Drug use

kate_has_book_thoughts's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Racism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Slavery, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

Minor: Mental illness, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Body shaming, and Drug use