Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

35 reviews

tenten's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Sexual violence, and Incest

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Slavery, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Murder, Hate crime, Rape, Racism, and Infidelity

marissasa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

I went into this book not knowing much other than that it has a queer woman's storyline and that it was turned into a movie and a musical, with a movie of the musical coming next year. I didn't expect the story to hit this hard with the layers of trauma, racism, sexism, domestic violence, and sexual assault that the main character Celie goes through. It took me longer to read this book than others of the same length just because of the dark topics and way Celie candidly recounts the abuse she's faced, but it was a very rewarding read because of the themes of perseverance, never losing hope, and staying true to yourself. It is very touching to see how Celie first writes her letters to God because her faith is placed all on religion to end her suffering or at least hear her story, but once she is separated from her sister Nettie she begins to write to her instead and places all her hopes in seeing her again some day. The language Alice Walker uses really gives a strong identity to the characters and helps to show the differences in the way each person carries themselves, particularly giving strong characterization to the women in both the main and supporting casts. I loved that this story gave so much nuance and complexity to the Black women, in a time period where they were historically undermined, taken for granted, and directly harmed. I loved seeing them have a voice and show resistance to the ways they were treated both to the men and the white people in their lives, and I thought the portrayal of Celie's sexuality and self-discovery was done with so much care and respect. This book is such an important one and I'm glad it has all the massive recognition, awards, and adaptations it does to appreciate its cultural relevancy and literary significance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Cursing, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Colonisation, Violence, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

sarah984's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I can see why people like this book and I did enjoy the community formed by the various women for survival even when they didn't like one another very much. However I felt that most of the characters weren't very deep and a lot of things seemed to be forgiven way too easily. There is a sort of "plot twist" in the mid point which seemed to have no purpose aside from making another character seem more "valuable" to Celie.

Additionally, while looking up information about the book while reading I discovered very recent and bizarre antisemitic comments that Alice Walker has made and I can't recommend reading a book by a living author who is out there recommending David Icke and Alex Jones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Medical content, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism, Grief, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

criticalgayze's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I have had a hard time sitting down to write this review, which is partially why I'm sitting down to it six days after having finished.

This novel was really powerful, especially the first half. It does that thing that all marginalized people's fiction feels like it has to do where it is simultaneously a history/anthropology lesson while being a deeply felt character study. Walker does some truly interesting things with language here, and I really appreciate the form, which is justified from the novel's start. I also am thankful for a modern classic that is so unabashedly Queer, and I don't think that aspect of the story is talked about enough. You can feel the authors that Walker is in conversation with here, most notably Hurston, and you can tell the authors who have been in conversation with her since, Whitehead is springing most quickly to mind.

But about halfway through the novel I took a trip over to Walker's Wikipedia page where I read some truly troubling things she's said in support of antisemitic creators. While she has tried to underplay the antisemitism in these works she supports, it does not come across as being very absolving of what one has to make the leap to assume are her own personal beliefs to some extent.

About the same time, the book dipped in interest for me. While we may try to push the separation of art from artist, I don't know that this is an achievable feat for me as a person, especially when Walker is a living author who has made these comments at least as recently as 2017. I don't know if the dip in my personal connection to the story can truly be said to be on the story's merit or on this disagreement with Walker's personal beliefs.

I do feel like I can say confidently that there is some extent to which the novel doesn't quite stick the landing to me as the novel's fade to black ending does feel a little overly sentimental and rosy in what up to that point has been a fairly searing tough hang of a novel.

Maybe one day I'll come back to try to review this more objectively, or maybe I'll just stick with the people who are having similar conversation in their works that don't come loaded with public baggage. Only time will tell.

Quotes:
She got my eyes just like they is today. Like everything I seen, she seen, and she pondering it. (pg. 13)
He try to give her a compliment, she pass it on to me. After while I git to feeling pretty cute. (pg. 17)
Oh Celie, unbelief is a terrible thing. And so is the hurt we cause others unknowingly. (pg. 184)
Let 'im hear me, I say. If he ever listened to poor colored women the world would be a different place, I can tell you. (pg. 191)
But it ain't easy, trying to do without God. Even if you know he ain't there, trying to do without him is a strain. (p. 192)
It hard enough to get by without being a fool. (pg. 219)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Police brutality

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” 

 “I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way...I can't apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to... We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful...We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid. It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose.” 

 “I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here.” 

 “I try to teach my heart not to want nothing it can't have.” 

  “Let him hear me. If [god] ever listened to poor colored women, the world would be a different place.” 

 “If you was my wife, she say, I'd cover you up with kisses stead of licks, and work hard for you too.” 

 “Every stitch i sew will be a kiss.” 

 “I wash her body, it feels like I'm praying. My hands tremble and my breath short.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Incest

Moderate: Dysphoria, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Racism

Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Police brutality

leabhar_love's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, and Slavery

maritareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This beautiful story encompasses the life of the black woman from around the 1890s to 1930s. I read this at 11 and even then I knew there was something profound and important about this. I'm glad I got to read this because Walker is a writer who clearly sees and loves black women, from damn near all over the black diaspora. I came a way with a lot of respect for the writer who coined the term "womanism". I recommend listening to the audiobook as she narrates it herself and I got to understand how the AAVE should be spoken and pronounced. And what beautiful writing. Celie expresses things in a simple way but she gives you that aha! moment. 

This touches on the lives of black women from post civil war America to pre colonial (just a little before) Africa. Celie, Nettie, Shug, Sophia, Mary Agnes and Tashi are all women who've had to fight all their lives. This packs a punch and everything bad that can happen to a black woman happens here. But these women rise up again and again. There is love here too, and sisterhood, friendship, a sapphic love, and a set of women who aren't tied down to one particular thing or person, no matter how much ridicule or abuse they might face.

Ah, there's so much to say but my thoughts are all jumbled. For sure this isn't an easy read. Put it down as long as you like before picking it up again. This is one of those ones I'll come back to time and time again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Police brutality, and Domestic abuse

melissathejan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you not looking, or don't know what you looking for. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, lord. Feeling like shit.

It? I ast.
Yeah, It. 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. It ain't something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself. I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you've found It.
Shug a beautiful something, let me tell you. She frown a little, look out cross the yard, lean back in her chair, look like a big rose.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, and Rape

bambidew'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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Police brutality and Chronic illness

Minor: Pregnancy and Eating disorder