Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

121 reviews

anastasia_okodure's review against another edition

dark 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? No

3.5

I enjoyed Celie's narrative and personal development, as well as the parallels between the story’s protagonists, but I admittedly did not resonate with many of the characters in the story: I found all the relationships and their changes quite confusing and frustrating, which I think made it difficult to feel a connection. The story ebbed and flowed, with its saving grace being the constant love and affection expressed between the two sisters and the ending to their story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Rape, Drug use, Slavery, Pregnancy, Incest, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual assault

courn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Abandonment, Body shaming, and Death of parent

clovetra's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.0

i am an inch away from crying over that last chapter my heart is breaking in the best way. i understand now why this story is a classic. 

this story captivated me in so many ways. to begin with, i will admit i was not enjoying this story. i found reading through celie’s poor spelling made it quite difficult for me to grasp what was happening, and many times i had to refer to summaries to understand what was happening. but as the novel progresses, you see celie become more educated, and it at least became easier for me to read as the words were spelled correctly. i do have to admit in retrospect i love the concept of displaying a character’s intelligence through purposefully misspelling passages, but whilst i was reading it did become a bit grating. i also found it difficult to understand the time span between events - i struggled to understand the progression of time, but i have a feeling this isn’t an issue on walker’s behalf, but my own.

this was an incredibly beautiful story. i have to say my favourite chapters would’ve been hands down the

letters nettie wrote to celie

, i loved exploring the land of olinka and how

celie’s kids

are fairing over there, especially the plot line with tasha. i also love how celie’s relationship with shug isn’t really questioned in a homophobic way. i know this is historical fiction and i truly was expecting some homophobia, but i was pleasantly surprised & relieved none of the main characters made homophobic remarks. sometimes i just want some wholesome women love, and that’s what this book was.

i will say i did not enjoy seeing how celie’s life was before shug. i know it was necessary to show celie’s character growth, and im not mad at it, but truly that was one of the reasons i think i didn’t enjoy the beginning. it felt like kicking a horse when she’s down.

my god were the side characters delectable. i’ll say easily my favourites were sophia and squeaks, with a cute mention to nettie & tashi. there were a lot of side characters and i will say i have no idea who a lot of them were simply because i lost track.

overall, this was a beautiful stories, covering the lows of celie’s life of abuse at the hands of men, and the highs of celie’s life because of the women she surrounds herself with, and the men around her who have grown to see celie for what she is - a queen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and Abandonment

peterockshakur's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs

natraf_reads's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Grief, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Violence

owls_rainbow's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

2.0

According to the amount of 5 star reviews on Goodreads this is a really popular book and to be honest I'm not totally sure why.

I hated the writing style. The way it was written was very tell rather than show. You can show that someone is poor and ill-educated in ways other than near illiterate writing. It made it hard for me to follow what was going on. Especially with all the references of Mr. — rather than using his actual surname.

The book seemed violent just for the sake of it. That opening chapter felt like trauma porn. You can indicate that she is a young person going through rape a lot less graphically. It wasn't necessary and it didn't add anything to the story. Then there were the beatings. We know that in those days men often hit their wives but did we need so many references to it? Also Sofia's excessive violence didn't make any sense.

I also didn't particularly care much about Nettie's letters, other than the fact that they were easier to read. She was an absent character for half the book and now we're supposed to care about all her ins and outs and missionary work. Sorry but not me.

I did like that Celie grew throughout the book and eventually started her own business and had her happy ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

bookishbabe431's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexism

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Rape, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Racial slurs

eventuee's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Incest, Sexual violence, and Violence

no_melanin's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Infidelity and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Incest, Rape, and Pedophilia

nadia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I've finally read this classic, in time for the latest movie (which I was surprised to see massively simplified the book, in terms of plot points and themes explored).

I really liked the book! I liked the letter structure and appreciated all of the themes covered. I certainly did not expect to laugh out loud at parts, especially so early on. Those who've read the book or seen one of the film adaptations might guess at what was the cause of this!

Didn't have as much of an emotional pull as I thought it would have though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Colonisation, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Classism and Injury/Injury detail