One of the most influential novels of all time and the one which won its author a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, marking the first time a black woman had ever won in this category, The Colour Purple is one of the most contested publications in history. But what is it that warrants it this acclaimed and also infamous reputation?
The Colour Purple is a book following two African American girls, Celie and Nettie, who grow up in rural Georgia, USA in the early 1900s. The sisters are abused by the people they live with, and the two end up being separated with contact between them prevented. The two are forced to adapt to their new existences and overcome the social environments they find themselves in before escaping their abusers and introducing each other to their respective families, which have grown in the absence of one another.
This book is a widely reputed one, for a range of reasons, principally its representation of African American lived experiences in early 1900s America, a time and place riddled with racism and injustice as a result of the North Atlantic Slave Trade. This book was simply groundbreaking when it was released and has rightly been recognised with many awards and has often faced censorship and been the subject of book banning campaigns (which in my opinion, means it’s even more important to read!). It’s also representation for black queer women, who are so often ignored in LGBTQ+ literature, as well as other forms of literature.
However, I personally struggled reading this book for several reasons. For starters, the content is very deep and very offensive. Whilst this is, at points, the absolute intention in order to highlight the injustices faced by people at this time in history, it doesn’t make this easier to read. The detail some of these go into, the frequency that slurs are used and the extent to which these difficult details are portrayed are extremely challenging to readers, especially if they are unaware the story dives into them, which forced me to take a break at points when this got so extensive.
The other issue I have is that when written from Celie’s point of view, the character’s manner of speaking, English lexicon and accent details, which are replicated in the text as they would be spoken, is very difficult to read easily. Whereas some books may portray a character as coming from the American South and leave it at that, everything from Celie’s perspective is written as it would be spoken in this tone. This is very true to the story which is a positive, but it makes reading the prose tricky as someone with a different accent and way of speaking. In terms of authenticity, this can’t be faulted at all and must be praised for its accuracy, but reading it is no easier which definitely affected my enjoyment of particularly the first half of the book.
I have huge respect for this book, its themes and its author, all of which are hugely important in the world of literature and it cannot be doubted that The Colour Purple is groundbreaking in many respects. But it is a very difficult read for multiple reasons, and I can’t say I finished the book satisfied, entertained or even thoughtful about its messages. It’s a challenge to get through and not enjoyable, but still an important title.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Colour Purple (ISBN: 0-7043-4666-4) was published in 1982. A copy is available to borrow from the LGBTQ+ Lending Library in the LGBTQ+ Lounge
