Title:The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Length: 288 pages, of which I only read about 75
It is quite possible that if I were to finish this book in it’s entirety without skimming, I might feel like slitting my wrist by the time I made it to the end. So though I only made it 75 pages in, I’m finished reading The Color Purple. I’m weak, or whatever, I can’t handle it.
Regardless of the fact that it is by far one of the most depressing topics out there, I cannot stand reading the dialect. And I’m from the South. Is this how Brits feel when they read Cockney?
I mean, I get it, they spoke that way then. And some people still do. Whatever. But I can’t handle 288 pages of it, on top of all the incest and baby drama.
So while Celie is praying for God to save her from this horrible life, I’m praying for that saving to involve some kind of literacy that will iron out all the times she says “ast” instead of “ask” and turn all the “dats” into “thats.”
God forbid I say this, being that I am a huge fan of reading and I’ve yet to see either of my examples in production – but maybe some stories are better absorbed via a Broadway musical than in a book. (Hearing dialect and reading dialect are very different things to me.) Some things like: The Color Purple and Wicked, for example.
So, since I can’t stomach the book, I’m going to break a rule of mine and attempt the movie or musical soon. I think a story can be important and still not feel the need to suffer through it in certain formats.
What about you guys? Anyone read or seen The Color Purple? Share your thoughts.
Maybe if I can survive the movie, I’ll try again.
