Honestly,
I was quite surprised that there were not more book reviews for The Color Purple. I was able to find several reviews in the
2000’s, but only one decent review in 2012.
I guess this supports how The
Color Purple can be viewed as a controversial book. We discussed in class how this was one of the
books schools were trying to ban their students from reading. Personally, I do not think that schools will
be able to ban a book completely, but this could support the fact why there are
not recent book reviews. One person in
class even noted that the library only had one copy for the text—this shocked
me.
Goodreads,
by far, had the most diverse and in depth book reviews. I decided to focus on three reviews: two male
and one female. I especially liked Russ’
review from 2007 because he states things the way they are. He notes that “this is not the book for
[people] if [they] object to blunt language about sexuality, and strong
language in general” (Russ par 2). I
would strongly agree with this statement because of all the abuse that happens
throughout the story. I would definitely
not recommend this book for children under the age of 13. I believe I was about 16 when I first read
it. Russ also noted how he liked the
format of the book—he liked the diary entries (Russ par 3). I personally liked the letters as well
because it made it easier to stop in between sections and process what was
happening. There was a female author,
Meara, who wrote a much shorter entry in March of 2007. The reason why I liked her entry was because
she focused on the emotion of the reader.
She notes “it was a beautiful story that made you want to cry, laugh and
smile along with the characters” (Meara par 1).
I can definitely connect with Meara’s comment. I felt like I was growing up with Celie as I
read the story, it takes a remarkable author—Alice Walker—to create a work of
art that can move so many people. The
other blog I liked from this site was written by K.D, written in May of 2012. K.D.’s stood out to me because of the formal literary
language he used. He stated that “there
are many themes that Walker tackled in the book: slavery, education and
literacy, violence, religious belief and colonialism” (K.D. par 1). Overall, I just thought he did an excellent
job explaining how these principles relate to the text. Reading the entries on Goodreads really
helped me to better analyze the book.
I
had a very difficult time finding a review from Barnes and Noble, but I did
find one written by Mel Watkins.
Watkins, who works for the New York Times, stated “Alice Walker’s choice
and effective handling of the epistolary style has enabled her to tell a
poignant tale of women’s struggle for equality and independence” (Watkins par
1). He hit the nail on the head with
this powerful statement. We discussed
both the theme of equality and independence in class. I can recall a discussion we had last week
about the pants Celie makes towards the end of the story. With the help of Shug, Celie is able to be
independent—she is making pants. She even
went against the norm because women did not wear pants back in the 1940’s. She was able to become a very successful
woman, who would even have her own business, and her husband Albert helping
her. Who would have thought that this
would have happened based on the novel’s beginning?
There
was only one review that really caught my attention from Amazon. It was written by JLind555 in May of 2000 and
focused on the “cruelty” Celie faced in the novel (JLind555 par 1). She explains, in depth, how Celie is treated
both by Pa and Mr. _____. I like how
JLind555 also brought up the fact that “Celie manages to survive by living one
day at a time” (JLind555 par 2). Celie does take things day by day in the book,
hoping that things will get better. I
would hate to be in Celie’s position wondering why all this happened to
me. Was it my fault? Being a young girl,
Celie probably did blame herself (and God) for what had happened to her, as
Charles L. Proudfit brings up on page 17 of his article, "Celie’s Search for Identity: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Reading of
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple."
As we discussed in class, this is one of the possibly why she stopped
writing to God, the other being that Shug helped her find Nettie’s letters that
Mr. _______ had been hiding in the trunk of his car. Like many readers, I was so happy to finally
see Celie and Nettie reunite after being separated for several years.
Please refer to the
Works Cited page for my citations.
Posted by zers.
I
looked at a lot of reviews for The Color
Purple. First I looked at Goodreads, where over a thousand people wrote
reviews on The Color Purple. Most of
the reviews were the same. Everybody found the book beautiful, a great
depiction of a woman overcoming struggles. Everyone also found the book blunt.
When I say blunt, I mean that Alice Walker wrote about many major issues and
she did not have Celie ease into these issues. Celie went from one issue to the
next and because Celie was talking to God or Nettie (both people she trusted),
she did not lighten up the issues. She said exactly what happened to her. An
example a few people talked about was when Celie began to show her true
sexuality as a lesbian. Celie did not struggle like some people would in that
position, she just outright accepted the fact that she is in love with women.
The only bad reviews I had read were people that found it hard to read the book
because of the vulnerability they felt while reading it. They felt that way
because of the abuse Celie went through, physically and emotionally. But all
together, these people still loved the storyline and finished the book. These
were the reviews I read on Goodreads.
Next
I read reviews from Barnes and Noble.
The first reviews I read talked about how well written the book is and
how it really drags you into it, because of Celie’s language and the
authenticity of her voice. And the way the letters stretch out over a long
period of time -- Celie’s whole life. Alice Walker leaves no gaps in Celie’s
life. Some reviewers found it inspiring how Alice Walker captures the lives of
African American women in a time when things were not so good for them. Walker
even relates the characters to white people and how the characters even talk
about how they are not equal to whites. Sophia even has to work as a maid for
the white people. That brings up a lot of issues from the time periods The Color Purple takes place in. All the
reviews find the book enticing and beautiful, a must read.
I
then read reviews from Amazon. The first review talked about how well the book
went in depth with all the characters; especially Celie, Shug, and Nettie. The
reader really gets a feel for who each character is. Another reviewer found it
a story of revelation because of Celie’s path through her life. In the end of
the book, her life is perfect; all the issues from the beginning are worked
out. People discussed how the book is a good example of how love transforms and
how strong issues are worked out. Just like on the other review websites,
people found the book beautiful and could not put it down while reading it. It
was hard for a couple of people to read it because of the vivid imagery, but
they still loved the story.
I
did not read one bad review for The Color
Purple. I would not give it a bad review either. It is a powerful book,
full of enticing storylines, and great imagery. Just like in Goodreads, I love
how Celie speaks to God and Nettie, the people she can trust. If it were
written like any old book, it would not capture Celie’s thoughts so well. I
think the book does an amazing job capturing the lives of African American
people when things were not so good for them in America, right before the Civil
Rights Movement. The book really is beautiful and I would recommend it to
anyone to read.
Posted by renee:)
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