Play Book Tag discussion

The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Book on CD read by the author
5***** and a ❤

Updated on 4th reading, March 2024

Writing the book as a series of letters (or diary entries) really gives the reader the chance to hear Celie. There are moments of despair, of sorrow, and a very few of joy. Celie is an extraordinary woman and watching her grow from a scared girl to a confident, in-charge woman is fascinating and uplifting.

I've read it four times now, and each time I get something more from it. On my most recent re-reading I'm struck by the change in Mister - his realization of the mess he'd made of his life and his attempt at reformation.

My latest re-reading was inspired by my having seen the latest movie version (actually, a film based on the Broadway musical adaptation of this novel). I was not a great fan of this latest film and wanted to re-read the book to be sure I was remembering it correctly. I thought the original film, adapted by Steven Spielberg, was wonderful, and Whoopi Goldberg was stupendous, but the book is so much more than even that movie. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I first read this book back in the mid-1980s and recommended it as a good discussion book for one of my book groups (July 2001). I read it again in 2010, and another book club decided to discuss it in 2024, following the most recent movie version.

On my fourth reading, I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by the author. Walker has such a feeling for her characters that I cannot imagine that anyone else could have done a better job of the narration.


LINK to my review