Breathtaking

Alice Walker is simply a genius. The characters are brilliantly drawn, the relationships are compelling, and the sense of place she creates is tangible. I remember seeing the movie and being changed by it, but reading this book at a more mature point in my life has impacted me in a deeper, perhaps more meaningful way. If educators were brave, this would be required reading for high school students. IMHO this is as much a classic as To Kill A Mockingbird or any Shakespeare play.

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Classic

Wonderfully written and narrated. It took me a long time to get around to experiencing this book. And I’m so happy I finally did.
Amazing. The rollercoaster of feelings I felt for the characters and subject matter were astounding. There were moments of rage and deep sorrow and relief.
Thank you Alice Walker. Thank you.

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A beautiful classic novel of a woman who overcomes adversity

The Color Purple is a book that has been on my “to read” list for years. I’m so glad I listened to the book which was narrated by the author. The characters really came to life in her performance. It started off with a heavy and shocking scene at the beginning. It was just the beginning of the obstacles and adversity the main character had to overcome in her life. The character development was rich and the themes were probably controversial in their day back in 1982. There was same-sex love, racism and profound discrimination, domestic violence sexual assault and subjugation of women - women of colour in particular.

One thing I do want to tell you, Dear Reader, is to avoid the movie if you decide to read the book. The movie completely missed the tone and the impact of the book, instead making the characters into cartoon’ish versions of themselves. But, I digress.

I absolutely recommend this book and the audiobook version was a joy to listen to. Highly recommended.

hearing this in the author's voice was fantastic!

the Author reading the story sold me. She sent the love through to the listener. There are moments that are hard to hear, but keep listening and know that it ends on a happy note. Alice Walker, if you ever read this, thank you.

Outstanding in every way!

There are books that make me feel, and there are books that can make me cry. this one makes me cry....I love it.

Great recording of a justifiable prize-winner

I've realized how brilliant the Spielberg adaptation is. This novel is in many ways *incredible*. Alice Walker deftly confronts genuinely disturbing themes (incest/rape, brutal racism, domestic abuse, family separation) with sober candor, and enshrouds it in laugh-out-loud humor and tearjerker pathos. Her dialogue is startlingly realistic and her characters are unforgettable. I found myself thinking about the book long after I shut it off.
The problem is the story structure. Walker presents the story as a series of first-person "Dear God" letters - essentially diary entries without dates. With such limited perspective, the end result is what sounds like a collection of anecdotes. While that may be intentional (it forces you to concentrate), it detracts somewhat from what is an undeniably enjoyable read. Spielberg's people turned it into a more coherent storyline.

Alice Walker does a remarkable job, but is an inferior reader. She knows the text intimately - which helps with tone and emotiveness - but reads at an annoyingly slow pace. I had to speed the recording to 1.10X to get the right timing. A professional reader would have been better (*Note: *Most* authors are poor readers, so I don’t fault Walker in particular.. but I can't give her a pass either).

With a different reader and a more linear storytelling approach, I would give this amazing, memorable novel Five stars. As it stands... I still give 8/10 stars for this recording (well worth a Credit - you won't be disappointed).

a masterpiece

I have read many books in my life and this will always be on my top 5 list. I could read it over and over and over again. It is intelligent, deeply emotional, and powerful. The characters are incredibly well developed and continue to grow and develop throughout the book in a way that makes them seem like real, living people.

I loved the way she reads it

loves it, made me really think and feel what the characters experienced loved it

it's a very complex novel that addresses themes

I loved it. it addresses a lot of social women's issues but it does addresses the level of women empowerment when we look after each other in a very oppressive society.

loved

loved it! after all these years, I still love this story. I highly recommend this