#1 in Contemporary fiction
The Color Purple
- 262
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- National Book Award for Fiction
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Our view
Told in letters, “The Color Purple” opens with abuse and racism described without softening, and some readers find the first half hard to take. What may surprise is how hopeful the book turns out to be: it works its way to an ending that feels earned. It is no easy read, but those willing to stay through the early chapters are well rewarded.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker that won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 873 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 86% of the weight and the score stays at 8.4 — the Contemporary fiction average of 7.7 barely moves it. A further +0.20 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 88 | 10% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 785 | 90% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Color Purple?
It has 262 pages — shorter than 90% of the ranked books in Contemporary fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Contemporary fiction — with scores between 7.5 and 8.2, closest to this book.
