1982's Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Color Purple engrossing, surprising

 

Here's yet another famous property that I know very little about; I hadn't read the book nor have I seen the movie. I'd like to think that even if I went into this book without knowing of its accolades and the high esteem in which it's held that I would still have been as taken by it was I was. 

Technically, I enjoyed the letter-writing as a device and was fascinated by the revealing of deeper knowledge through hidden letters. But the framework was just a hook, and the deeper I got the more it gave.

I always carry something a writing teacher once said: that a story should either reveal to you a world you don't know, or something new about a world you do know, and in that way it will connect you to the tale. Well, I know nothing of the world of The Color Purple, but I found myself wishing for the best for characters; there was something about the tone of the book that made it feel like even the least likeable of people in the story were not hated by the author, or Celie by extension. There was evil, but they received something other than hate ... disregard, maybe. It was an uplifting book despite spending time in some awful situations.

I'll be swinging back around for the movie when I have the time.