The Color Purple

Life wasn't easy for Celie. But she knew how to survive, needing little to get by. Then her husband's lover, a flamboyant blues singer, barreled into her world and gave Celie the courage to ask for more -- to laugh, to play, and finally -- to love.

[Banner] Now a Tony Award-Winning Broadway Musical
 

The Color Purple is the story of two sisters—one a missionary to Africa and the other a child wife living in the South—who remain loyal to one another across time, distance, and silence. Beautifully imagined and deeply compassionate, this classic of American literature is rich with passion, pain, inspiration, and an indomitable love of life.
"Intense emotional impact . . . Indelibly affecting . . . Alice Walker is a lavishly gifted writer."—The New York Times Book Review

"Places Walker in the company of Faulkner."—The Nation

"Superb . . . A work to stand beside literature of any time and place."—San Francisco Chronicle

"The Color Purple is an American novel of permanent importance."—Newsweek

"Marvelous characters . . . A story of revelation . . . One of the great books of our time."--Essence
 
[banner] Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
 
 
 [bio]
Bestselling novelist Alice Walker is also the author of three collections of short stories, three collections of essays, six volumes of poetry and several children's books. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, Walker now lives in northern California.