Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

96 reviews

reedmorebooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring 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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nadia's review against another edition

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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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melist6's review

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dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.5


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eekke's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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? No

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znvisser's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

The Color Purple has been one of my mom’s favourite movies for years, so it’s about time I watch it (and then the upcoming release too of course); but then I couldn’t without first reading the book. So I sourced a pretty Penguin edition and finally got started. 

This story does a lot of things and it does all of them really well. It’s full of complicated people, relationships and lives; of women gaining strength and wisdom with their years and some men trying (and some not); of exploration of faith and building community; and of (post-)colonial criticism slicing through it all. 

In advance, I was weary of its form - through letters, but it worked out surprisingly well. And I'm also becoming more and more of a sucker for stories in which the real love story is platonic. This is such a rich story, and I can’t wait to see how it translates into films. 

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perleerose's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

Man this book was great. My friend recommended it to me saying ‘it’s mandatory reading for white people’ but it’s so much more than that. It’s such an intersectional book and anyone would be a better person for having read it. The love the characters have for each other is palpable. 
‘But when you talk bout love I don’t have to guess. I have love and I have been love.’

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universe_of_possibilities's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Oh man. I love celie. I feel so deeply for her; I see myself in her and every black woman that I've ever loved. I never expected this book to be so intimate. I have only ever seen the original movie, the musical, and the movie musical, which aren't even comparable to the book to be honest. They are different Celies, different Netties, different Shugs. But the format of the book, reading Celie's personal letters to God and to Nettie, and Nettie's to Celie.... these characters are just so real. So real and flawed and deserving and enduring. 

Celie's queerness is so vital to her identity and i don't understand why they decided to minimize it so in the movies and musicals. And same for Shug. Celie is a woman who has been done nothing but wrong by men, never felt anything for them, only loved one woman. Her love for Shug ignited something in her that was stronger than her trauma. Celie is a LESBIANNNN and that's important and amazing!! Don't jump me but the sanitizing Celie and Shug's relationship to one giggly kiss kinda makes the adaptations feel lazy. Like the sparknotes version for people who didn't want to read the book.

Dear God, dear Celie, dear Nettie, dear trees, dear sky, dear stars, dear peoples, dear everything, dear God. I CRIED. I honestly cant put into words how Celie's relationship away from/to the God she learned to speak to as a girl and the God she met as a woman. But oh man i cried. When Celie ended her letters to Nettie with amen, idk i felt something crack open in me. Alice walker girl idk how you do this writing shit. This is the best book i have ever read in my entire life.

When Celie said "i don't think us feel old at all. Matter fact, i think this the youngest us ever felt," that was the last straw lol. Celie and Nettie are the EPITOME of 'we were girls together.' They were girls together!!! As grown women, they reunite finally feeling supported, secure, loved, safe, everything they were supposed to be feeling as children. They can be young now :( good grief.

Of course this book, as all books, has its flaws (although they are few and far between) but i have never read something like this before. This book is beyond. 

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heisiiri's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

An important classic that tackles very difficult themes, but still a fairly quick read. Discusses the themes of Black womanhood and religion in a very insightful way. 

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camillebrianna's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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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katiejohns's review

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hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.0


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