Book Review - The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Synopsis:  Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.

First Line:  "You better never not tell nobody but God."

Random Quote:  "The port is pretty, but too shallow for large ships to use.  So there is a good business for the boatmen, during the season the ships come by."

Review:  This is one of those books that lots of people adore.  It became a wonderful movie and later a musical.  I wish I could say that I loved it, but for me it was just okay.

The Color Purple on Broadway - Image by rmcgervey via Flickr

First, I wish I hadn't read the author's Preface to this edition because I found it completely off-putting.  In it, Ms. Walker comes off as preachy and hectoring, telling me before I could read one word what to think of what she'd written - turns out I'd rather decide for myself.

Next, it's epistolary and for some reason the form just didn't add anything to the story for me.  I suspect I'm too much of a modernist and want form to follow function and in this case story and methodology didn't fit for me.  I also didn't like the use of dialect although I understand the authorial choice and she's definitely written a clearly voiced character.  Still, for me it was really distracting.

I get the place of this book amongst feminist classics and why people love it, but for me it just didn't sing.

This was my double-dipper for the Battle of the Prizes - American Version challenge and is my last read for the challenge - wrap-up post forthcoming.  Thanks to Rose City Reader for sponsoring a great challenge that for a second year made me stretch to read things I might not have read otherwise.

Reading Challenges:  Battle of the Prizes - American Version, Book Awards Reading Challenge 2010, Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, Random Reading Challenge 2010, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge