THE COLOR PURPLE

Alice Walker's masterpiece depicts the struggle of black women of the mid-20th century against both white racism and also black patriarchal sexism. Only 14, Celie has been raped by her stepfather, her children given away, and goes to be the wife of a man she only calls "Mister" in order to save her sister Nettie from his attentions. In her letters to God, her only confessor, Celie describes her degradation at the hands of her husband and the abuses visited on other women in her family. But as she matures, and discovers herself through her love of the flamboyant singer Shug, she reclaims her dignity and self-possession.