Book # 73 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Banned Books Week Edition

As someone with a degree in Library Science I feel somewhat obligated to mention that it Banned Books Week. Every year the American Library Association compiles a list of books that were "challenged" by people wanting them removed from public or school libraries. Yes, there are still people out there that get enraged enough by a book that they make a written complaint to a librarian asking for the book to be removed. Of course librarians as a whole are against censorship but I think they also find it somewhat humorous that they receive these complaints... how is it that The Chocolate War is still getting complaints? This probably explains why they get so excited for Banned Book Week and put out huge posters and displays of books that were challenged.... be a rebel and read The Catcher in the Rye!

One of those books that often gets challenged is The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The Color Purple is a book that I wouldn't have ever thought to read if it wasn't on our list. So this is one of the times where reading something from the list really pays off... this book is great (but a bit depressing for the most part).

The novel is made up mostly of letters written by the main character, Celie, that detail her life. And her life is full of difficulties... First her father sexually abuses her and sells her children, then she gets married off to a man that physically abuses her and pretty much treats her like a slave. Her husband then allows his mistress, Shug,  to move in with them! However Celie and Shug become great friends and Celie eventually builds up the strength to stand up for herself, leave her husband and start her own business. She also finds out that her sister has been writing to her for years and she discovers what happened to her children.

From the very beginning the story is captivating and I felt bad for Celie's struggles. Near the end it looks like the book could go with either a totally sad ending or an uplifting ending... and I'm glad it ended the way it did. As a whole it was entertaining and very thought provoking. I'll give it an A.

For a listing of challenges to The Color Purple you can check out http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics/reasons which lists the challenges several classic books have received in the past. Even though it does have great literary merit, I can see some why some parents might complain if the book was given as assigned reading, but trying to completely remove it from a library is just ridiculous.