A modern classic whose influence can still be felt in contemporary literature, Walker's searing exploration of both white racism and violent Black patriarchy in the first half of the twentieth century is a uniquely powerful reading experience.
'The great irony about The Color Purple is that it transcends colour. To do that you have to be a magician or a genius... Not a word is wasted, every breath accounted for. We all know that this is one of the greatest books of all time.' - Benjamin Zephaniah
The classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name.
Set in the deep American South between the wars, The Color Purple is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation.
Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage.
But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781474607254
Number of pages: 288
Weight: 260 g
Dimensions: 198 x 126 x 30 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A genuinely mind-expanding book.' - Patrick Ness, The Guardian
'She is one of the most gifted writers in her country' - Isabel Allende
'The Color Purple is a work to stand beside literature for any time and any place. It needs no category other than the fact that it is superb' - Rita Mae Brown
'The Color Purple is a lush celebration of all that it means to be female, to be a black female and like the best of celebrations, it is an honest one. Alice Walker's honesty in this book is combative, relentless and redemptive. It is from this honesty that bitterness emerges, and yet the bitterness never blights the encompassing humanity of Walker's vision.I love that The Color Purple doesn't try to soften its blows but is also courageous enough to hold on to a wonderfully affirming faith in possibility, in forgiveness and kindness and hope.' - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
'A unique blend of serenity and immediacy that makes your senses ache' - Helen Dunmore
'Alice Walker is a lavishly gifted writer' - The New York Times
'A fable for the modern world' - The Washington Post
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