The Color Purple

The Color Purple

A PBS Great American Read Top 100
Available in:
  • eBook
  • Paperback
  • Audiobook
  • Hardcover

Kindle Unlimited

Free with a subscription to Kindle Unlimited

Synopsis

Read the original inspiration for the new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, now in a beautiful Penguin Vitae edition with a foreword by Kiese Laymon

A Penguin Classic Hardcover


A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women—their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery.

Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, The Color Purple breaks the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, and carries readers on an epic and spirit-affirming journey toward transformation, redemption, and love.

Release date: September 20, 2011

Publisher: Open Road Media

Print pages: 306

* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.

Reader buzz

Please log in to recommend or discuss...

Behind the book

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this novel about a resilient and courageous woman has become a Broadway show and a cultural phenomenon.

The Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award–nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker “in the company of Faulkner” ( The Nation), and remains a wrenching—yet intensely uplifting—experience for new generations of readers.

Author updates

Celebrating Black History Month

Celebrate Black History Month with this curated book list, highlighting diverse voices and experiences across genres.
The Blackbirds Eric Jerome Dickey
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . .: A LOVE Story Jason Reynolds
Libertie Kaitlyn Greenidge

Juneteenth

By TheImmersiveBookshelf & Jen Jacobs
Genres: General Fiction
Juneteenth commemorates the day the last enslaved people were emancipated in the United States on June 19, 1865. This list honors the holiday featuring historical fictional books based around slavery.
The Book Of Negroes Lawrence Hill
The Known World Edward P. Jones
Sugar
3 Sugar
Bernice L. McFadden

Reading for Pride Month

By JoBB
Chosen from Good Housekeeping's 2023 list https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g27814264/best-gay-lgbt-books/
The Atlas Six Olivie Blake
The Mercies Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Young Mungo Douglas Stuart

Celebrating Black History Month

"History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own." - Michelle Obama
Binge on opening chapters of these riveting African American literature titles.
Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
The Girl at the Back of the Bus Suzette D. Harrison
The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead