Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

11 reviews

kia_y_k's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Slavery, Addiction, Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual content

kimschouwenaar's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

Honestly, the only reason this doesn’t have a 5-star rating is because I couldn’t get a grip on the timeline and the pacing. Will definitely be reading more of Alice Walker!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Body shaming, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity and Slavery

honeywaffles's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

A tough start with the family traumas, but still a beautiful love among family through hardship. I found the missionary experiences in Africa the most interesting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Xenophobia

aliena_jackson's review against another edition

hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful; I cannot believe I haven’t read it sooner. But unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped. Still, it was a breathtaking read and it is important that others read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Racial slurs

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.

---

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

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Rape, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

nafisa_tabassum's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

5.0

Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple' is a challenging book to read. It doesn't shy away from the diversely dark parts of oppression and abuse. The novel's tone, much like the main narrator Celie, is straightforward and blunt about misery or violence. But that's also the charm of it. Celie is familiar with abuse and pain, so she describes it as it is. She does the same with moments of joy or transcendence. So ultimately, the book is rewarding and hopeful.

The novel has a very clear vision about being black in an oppressive America, a situation that is nuanced and complex. I appreciated that the book attempted to tackle so many stories - its range is vast, even traveling to Africa in a portion of the book that was heart-wrenching and beautiful. It sheds light on the continued colonization of Africa, something that is still an issue today. It is incomparably informative and insightful.

The heart of the book however is an understanding of 'God', which it approaches in a mostly non-religious way. We see different characters interact with this idea and, in the end come to their separate but interconnected conclusions about what that means for them. In all cases, that understanding comes through introspection, love, family and pain. Celie begins the book by addressing God as an abused, neglected child. In letters that don't really read like letters but guide the narrating voice, defines the subject and the audience, 'God' runs like an undercurrent though the entire narrative.

Minor spoiler -  

It surprised me when it came up, and it was a delight. Celie is an unapologetic lesbian and it's a big part of her journey. It doesn't focus on queer pain, which was odd considering how the novel doesn't shy away from all other types of pain. It's not on me to really say if the book would be improved by discussing it or why Walker did not address homophobia at all in the novel. Lesbian love is a transgressive force in the story, but it's not questioned. Maybe I'm missing some context, or maybe Walker did not want to dive into something she wasn't as familiar with. I don't know, but it was still nice to see it explicitly and beautifully depicted.

All in all, 'The Color Purple' is a must read. It's a story that needs to be heard an understood in a world that often denies the pain of oppression.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

katethecatlady'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

---

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

luzaile's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Abandonment, Incest, and Xenophobia

grayscale08's review against another edition

challenging 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

Although it is revealed that there is no incest later in the book, the beginning scene is thought to be incestuous for most of the book, which may be an additional trigger.