Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

82 reviews

znvisser's review against another edition

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 wary 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

ozziebug524_'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

bootrat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I had no idea this book was gay when I started reading it, and I can't believe I never knew! Half a star extra for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

greenan26's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy

sarasreading's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

This book grabbed me from page one and did not let go until I finished. I am very ill right now but I put off much needed rest to read this. Even my sick-addled brain couldn't stop me from reading this. 

I had no idea it was told in letters, and I found many of the devices used in these letters so well done. I had all the feelings while reading this and I was a total mess at the end. I've seen the movie, but it's been a very long time. I had no idea when I put this on my 23 to read in 2023 that they were making a new movie! I'm excited to see it now that I've read the book. I think this one is based on the Broadway musical, which I know nothing about, but I hope it's closer to the book than the 80s movie. I don't remember a ton about it, but I know they erased entire, important sections of this book.

Definitely one of my top reads of the year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racial slurs

camillebrianna's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent

angelgo616's review against another edition

adventurous 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

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: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Amazing character writing, this book is hard hitting and poignant. 
The epistolary style works well, but the fact that the plot is a “slice-of-life-over-a-lifetime” made it a little bit meandering for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Gaslighting

hannahbailey'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail