TW: Rape, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse, racism.
This book is such an incredible and powerful modern classic and I'm shocked it has taken me so long to finally read it but wow it is truly a beautifully written read. It follows the lives of Celie and Nettie, two African American sisters living in rural Georgia during the 1900's who are separated through Celie's forced marriage, and it explores Celie's painful and tough existence as she experiences profound abuse from the men in her life as well as the society she lives in due to her gender, colour, race and economic background. The book is written through letters that Celie at first writes to God before going on to letters exchanged between herself and Nettie. Walker writes these letters in broken English and colloquial language and it makes this book even more authentic and engaging as she discusses some very hard hitting topics and it really helps to further immerse you in the story and show the development of Celie from an emotionally broken young teenager to a powerful and strong woman who finds her voice to stand up. Overall, this story is such an empowering read and even though it is such a hard read from the very beginning it is definitely a book that everyone needs to read at some point in their life. Also, it has some f/f romance and was the first book written by a Black author to win a Pulitzer Prize in fiction so if that isn't another great reason to give it a read then I don't know what is.