num_pages: 288
description: Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.
language: English
title: The Color Purple
titlecomplete: The Color Purple
characters: Nettie, Miss Millie, Celie, Shug Avery, Albert
genres: Fiction, Historical, Queer, LGBT, Literature, Feminism, Classics, Novels, Historical Fiction, African American
ratings_count: 653309
places: Georgia
series: The Color Purple Collection
awards: awardedAt: 410256000000
name: Pulitzer Prize
category: Fiction, awardedAt: 410256000000
name: National Book Award
category: Fiction (Hardcover), awardedAt: 378720000000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: Fiction, awardedAt: 441792000000
name: Townsend Prize for Fiction
publisher: Harvest Books