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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
The Third Life Of Grange Copeland; Meridian; The Color Purple by Alice Walker
2 reviews
squidsmash's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death, Slavery, Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Violence, Racial slurs, and Infidelity
rlgreen91's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ok, so I had planned to give myself until the next day to review this like normal, and then of course time got away from me. So now here I am about a month later, trying to reflect on this novel - and I think what still stands out to me the most is the relationship between Grange and Ruth and Josie as a character.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Grange and Ruth, perhaps because it reminded me of my relationship with my grandfather in some ways. I could practically see the love and care each developed for each other over the years. It's a bit hard to explain - I'm not sure how to without just listing out all of their interactions and hoping others realize the relationship is more than the sum of all of those parts. But getting to see the depiction of their relationship was wonderful.
As for Josie the character - it's funny, by the time I got to the end I realized that she reminded a lot of Shug Avery from The Color Purple. They have fairly similar backstories, in terms of their reputations, their love lives (and how that affected their reputations), their relationships with their parents, children, lovers, etc., and how they went about their careers. But Shug Avery managed to achieve a level of personal peace and some degree of healing that Josie never did, or at least never did completely. Knowing that The Third Life of Grange Copeland was Walker's first book, I wonder how much of Josie influenced her eventual development of Shug Avery. I wonder if Walker had taken Josie, who realized how empty her life seemed towards the end, and said what if I had another woman like this who had somehow gotten to a point where she felt whole? It would be interesting to ask someday if I could.
There's still a lot more to this novel that I could talk about. Honestly, talking about Brownfield in full is probably a book unto itself, if not someone's dissertation. I'm sure this is a book I'll end up re-reading eventually, but maybe I'll swing by and jot down some more thoughts before then.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Grange and Ruth, perhaps because it reminded me of my relationship with my grandfather in some ways. I could practically see the love and care each developed for each other over the years. It's a bit hard to explain - I'm not sure how to without just listing out all of their interactions and hoping others realize the relationship is more than the sum of all of those parts. But getting to see the depiction of their relationship was wonderful.
As for Josie the character - it's funny, by the time I got to the end I realized that she reminded a lot of Shug Avery from The Color Purple. They have fairly similar backstories, in terms of their reputations, their love lives (and how that affected their reputations), their relationships with their parents, children, lovers, etc., and how they went about their careers. But Shug Avery managed to achieve a level of personal peace and some degree of healing that Josie never did, or at least never did completely. Knowing that The Third Life of Grange Copeland was Walker's first book, I wonder how much of Josie influenced her eventual development of Shug Avery. I wonder if Walker had taken Josie, who realized how empty her life seemed towards the end, and said what if I had another woman like this who had somehow gotten to a point where she felt whole? It would be interesting to ask someday if I could.
There's still a lot more to this novel that I could talk about. Honestly, talking about Brownfield in full is probably a book unto itself, if not someone's dissertation. I'm sure this is a book I'll end up re-reading eventually, but maybe I'll swing by and jot down some more thoughts before then.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Body horror, Death, Murder, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Child abuse, and Rape
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
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