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A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia.
Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women—their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery.
Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, The Color Purple breaks the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, and carries readers on an epic and spirit-affirming journey toward transformation, redemption, and love.
"A saga filled with joy and pain, humor and bitterness, and an array of characters who live, breathe, and illuminate the world." —Publishers Weekly
"My go-to comfort novel is The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Even though it touches on difficult subject matter like child abuse and forced marriage, this story believes that human kindness, courage and love can defeat any challenge. Its big, beautiful happy ending is heartfelt and hard-won. Every single time I read this book, I walk away as a slightly better person than I was when I picked it up." —The New York Times
"Remarkable expressiveness, color, and poignancy . . . not only a memorable and infinitely touching character but a whole submerged world is vividly called into being." —The New York Review of Books
This information about The Color Purple (Penguin Vitae) was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: alicewalkersgarden.com
Alice Walker is a renowned American author and activist. She won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her novel The Color Purple. Her other bestselling novels include We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, Possessing the Secret of Joy and The Temple of My Familiar. She is also the author of several collections of short stories, essays, poetry, and some children's books. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. She began writing at the early age of eight, publishing her first story in 1965 at the age of 21. She travels extensively for her activism, standing up for economically, spiritually and politically oppressed people. She worked as a social worker and teacher, and was actively involved in the Civil ...
... Full Biography
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Link to Alice Walker's Website
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