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britprincess1ajax
Sep 25, 2016britprincess1ajax rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The last week of September is typically celebrated by the ALA as Banned Books Week, in which readers exercise their right to read whatever they please, free from censorship. As someone who wholeheartedly supports freedom of expression, I really felt the need to mark this occasion. THE COLOUR PURPLE is one of those books that I have meant to read because I saw the film at a young age and knew the book was out there but never got around to reading. So, you can imagine my delight in finally finding a reason to read it that was a touch greater than the fact that I really, really, really wanted to. I found that THE COLOUR PURPLE is largely plotless, but in a good way. I don't mean that nothing happens. In fact, a lot of things happen. It's hard to recount all the things that happen. But since this book is about a life and life is largely plotless, it feels like that, each event occurring because it happened to, and not because someone wrote it to be so. The novel revolves around the miserable existence that our protagonist, Celie, ekes out while married to an abusive husband who openly courts another woman right in front of Celie's eyes. She raises his disrespectful children and feels the oppression of being an African-American farmwife in the early decades of the twentieth century. I won't say too much because I don't want to ruin the novel (I never want to ruin a novel for anyone who hasn't read it), but I must say that watching Celie become more and more liberated is wonderful. An independent woman is a beautiful thing, a woman who realizes she needs love but that sometimes it comes in weird and unexpected forms. And, above all, this is a book about sorority. The relationship between Celie and her sister Nettie is intensely vital. Without it, the book lacks that golden thread to tie all its parts together. It's a solidly written tale of Celie's life. And, of course, I appreciate the title. I may not speak the same words as they do or share the same belief system, but I too believe in the power of the colour purple.