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• W4313002004 abstract "Reviewed by: In Search of the Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillet Courtney Walton In Search of the Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece. By Salamishah Tillet. Abrams Press, 2021. 224 pp. The book In Search of the Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillet (2021) presents a detailed view of Alice Walker's literary masterpiece The Color Purple (1982), winner of both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award in 1983. Tillet's book mixes literary history, biography, interviews, and cultural commentary to investigate all sides of Walker's novel and its adaptations: a 1985 Hollywood film and a 2005–2008 Broadway musical. By doing so, she provides readers with the thorough cultural context necessary for a full understanding of Walker herself and her novel. While The Color Purple and Walker are more favorably viewed in current times, Tillet reminds readers of the criticisms Walker faced due to her supposed stereotyped black male characters, portrayal of lesbian lovers, and use of black southern dialects. Tillet plausibly proposes that The Color Purple has much more to offer readers than the critiques surrounding the author and the novel suggest, presenting it instead as a beautifully crafted work of art that has imparted healing for numerous victims of abuse, including herself. Tillet's book differs from conventional literary criticism in that she emphasizes the personal: her own journey of self-actualization is [End Page 135] represented in—and is indebted to—The Color Purple, and Tillet allows readers to see her emotional connection to the novel. Prominent black male leaders viewed Walker, a key pioneer in black feminism, as a detriment to the black family. Her novel detailing abuse committed by black men, in addition to positive depictions of a lesbian relationship, led many traditionalists, mostly black men, to protest the novel and later the film. Tillet describes her own inner turmoil as a black feminist before having been bolstered by Walker's bravery. As a young woman, Tillet was a proud feminist and staunch supporter of gay rights among certain circles at the University of Pennsylvania; but she also acknowledges having traded symbols of her feminism for Afrocentric attire when around her black friends there. Feminism's embrace of different sexualities conflicted with the conservative values within the black community. Tillet notes that some black conservatives believed that homosexuality wasn't simply a disease but an existential threat that male-led black families had to root out in order to survive (112). For many, feminism's acceptance of homosexual relationships was incompatible with the male-dominated black liberation struggle, and the anger of many black male community members toward Walker's acceptance of homosexuality culminated in a boycott of her novel. For Tillet, however, this negative reaction to Walker's novel missed the point of the text's vocalization of both the racist and sexist sufferings that black women had endured. And while The Color Purple does detail disturbing scenes of abuse, Tillet applauds Walker for those moments that reveal many people's stories. As a victim of sexual assault, Tillet poignantly recalls the healing that took place as she read and internalized the novel's three central black women characters: Celie, Shug, and Sophia. Celie's resilience after sexual assault gave Tillet a voice after having been sexually abused herself; Shug's sexual fluidity granted Tillet permission to embrace bisexuality; and Sophia's fury over the gender and racial oppression she experienced encouraged Tillet to make changes that would spare her children such hardships (6). Having been inspired in her personal life by these three characters from Walker's The Color Purple, Tillet divides her book on Walker's novel into three parts, each named for one of those characters: Celie, Shug, and Sophia. Celie, the first section, emphasizes biography as it recounts both Tillet's connection to The Color Purple as a book of healing and [End Page 136] Walker's road to writing the novel. The author informs readers that The Color Purple is not a story that simply emerged from Walker's imagination; rather, it is a story derived from Walker's family tree. These..." @default.
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• W4313002004 date "2020-09-01" @default.
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• W4313002004 title "In Search of the Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece by Salamishah Tillet" @default.
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