The Colour Purple (Orion Publishing Co)

Summary of the Book

In a series of letters to God, Celie tells readers her story. Childhood abuse and rape at her father's hands were followed by years of abuse and rape by her husband and her step-children. The sole ray of light in Celie's life has been her sister Nettie, and the rest of the letters in this book are addressed to her. In them Celie constantly speaks of hope and love, trying to be a staunch pillar for her sister in her efforts to protect her. Her messages of optimism despite being constantly abused by everyone she knows show that there is still hope for humanity in this cruel world. Through the course of her life Celie discovers that Nettie's failure to reply isn't her fault, and perhaps it is just that someone has been keeping her sister's letters from her.

About Alice Walker

Alice Walker is an American writer and activist. She is also the author of: The Third Life of Grange Copeland, In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women, Meridian, You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories, To Hell With Dying, The Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy among other works.

Mrs. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for the current title besides several other notable awards for her work throughout the years. Influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, Walker went to South American as a civil rights activist.