Review: The Color Purple

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No Wonder it's taught in Schools.

Though I chose this book as a reread, having read it in high school. However, once I started reading it I realized I didn't actually remember it at all. It was a nice surprise. Not only are the characters believable but they're written in such a way that can make you deeply empathetic towards them. Though I've never suffered many of the struggles or in justices of the characters in the book I can relate to some of the stronger motivations in Celie. Seeing her change through the book as much as her core values stay the same while this whole Pantheon of people grow and change around her made for a story that kept you wanting to keep reading. And it wasn't too predictable. At the end I really did wonder if she was going to reunite with her sister or not and I don't think I would have been surprised either way.

I found it interesting that comma though I know I was taught this book in high school, and I didn't really pay attention obviously, I never really hear about this book as being something that also addressed being a lesbian woman in the rural South in the 30s. It's frequently said now that black feminism or black lgbtq rights 10 to get minimized by mainstream feminism and mainstream lgbtq activists in modern time comma and while this book clearly addresses female rights and domestic violence even the plot summaries and jacket summaries fail to mention the sexuality of the protagonist, which I find interesting. It may be because her sexuality is in a way a side issue because in the end she is able to freely Express her sexuality, but I feel like that would be another reason to raise up or teach this book.

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