The Color Purple

Alice Walker

Sep 2011 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

The Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning novel is now a new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino.

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband.

In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson’s wife, Sofia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie’s sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie’s unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of all.

The Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker “in the company of Faulkner” (The Nation), and remains a wrenching—yet intensely uplifting—experience for new generations of readers.

This ebook features a new introduction written by the author on the 25th anniversary of publication, and an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The Color Purple is the 1st book in the Color Purple Collection, which also includes The Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy.

Ratings and reviews

In 1984 went to visit Dad & Step-Mom in Florida. Mom shows me a book she's reading and says, "You have a got to read this book! It's different from any other book I've read!". Now when it came to books, I was not a fan. Mom tried her darndest over the years to get me to read for fun. This was at lease 50th book she'd tried to get me to read over the years. I took the book, thanked her, not really sure if I'd read it all or not. I lived in North central Illinois and traveled via Greyhound, best for the income at the time, home was almost 2 days to travel from florida. So I started the book. My mind was popular blown! I love this book The Color Purple! I couldn't read it fast enough! Page by page, growing, crying, with this young girl! This is something special! From begining to end, I grew spiritually and emotionally, as it opened my eyes to abuse on a huge scale! The move was real good yet if you don't read the book, you don't know the whole story. I'm going to read it again now!📖📚📖

I don't write reviews much but this deserved a few words. I grew up watching the movie based on this book many times not really appreciating it until I was older. However after reading the book it made me love the story even more as I think sometimes we forget how things use to be. It makes me appreciate the time I live in even with its own problems. This is a definitely a book that must be read for a long time to come.

I remember being a little girl when I first saw Steven Speilberg's movie version of this book. The Color Purple became one of my favorite movies. Having read the book solidifies exactly why this story is so great. The characters are all likeable even if their circumstances are harsh. Its not just a book about Celie. Somehow, there is a life lesson that we gain from the characters' understanding of what life is and what love is and what it means to them.

About the author

Alice Walker (b. 1944), one of the United States’ preeminent writers, is an award-winning author of novels, stories, essays, and poetry. In 1983, Walker became the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel The Color Purple, which also won the National Book Award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Meridian, The Temple of My Familiar, and Possessing the Secret of Joy. In her public life, Walker has worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.