Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

24 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

alicelucygranger's review

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

I understand the purpose of the way it was written but I found that it made it difficult to read and that distracted me from the book. Even though quite a lot happens it’s really slow in parts. However interesting insight into the life of someone from that background and time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, and Sexism

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

autumnwhite's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ayjwin2000's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

poirot's review

emotional 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: Police brutality, Racism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Slavery, Sexual violence, Incest, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Rape, Pedophilia, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and War

ashley_1206's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

DTB. honestly so upset about that 3rd act [fill in blank]. i don’t know if it’s because of how long it took me to read this book but i was a bit underwhelmed. i don’t know why. it honestly could be my slump and maybe after i analyze the book i’ll appreciate it more. i do like this book and the development but i think i need mind space to understand it DEEPER (if that makes any sense)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Slavery, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Classism, Incest, and Racism

studiouspoppy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

I loved it. It’s definitely hard to read and contains a lot of race-gender based violence, but that’s life. The religious reflections were really interesting, and the discussions on sexuality were truly ahead of its time. The difference in the narrators voices was so well done too, same with their evolution. The sisterhood, the different types of love, the diverse families were everything!
Will be rereading it, and I will definitely recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and War

nicholas_ryan's review

dark emotional 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

4.75

Theme: 2
Enjoyment: 1.75
Style: 1

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol