The Color Purple

Celie has learned to survive by keeping her thoughts to herself. In the segregated American South, abuse, a forced marriage and separation from her sister Nettie have narrowed the life she can imagine. Letters become a place to speak when the people around her refuse to listen. Then Shug Avery, a singer whose confidence unsettles Celie's household, brings a different understanding of affection and desire. Through her bonds with Shug and other women, Celie begins to question the authority that has shaped her days. Family separation, faith and the search for independence run through a story of a woman learning that her own voice deserves to be heard.