The Color Purple’s 2023 reboot has a lot of people reminiscing about the 1985 classic period film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. But we can’t forget that the movie that earned critical acclaim and 11 Oscar nominations was based on a 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker.
Suggested Reading
Whether you’re reading it for the first time or the fifth, you’ll be pulled into Walker’s story of strength, family and the power of love from the very first page. And when you’re done, you’ll be looking to sink your teeth into more books like it.
If you liked Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” we’ve rounded up some of our favorite books by Black authors that will touch your soul.
“The Women of Brewster Place” by Gloria Naylor
Gloria Naylor’s debut novel, “The Women of Brewster Place,” put her on the map and won her the coveted National Book Award. The book weaves together the stories of seven diverse Black women who live in a decaying project building cut off from the rest of the city and the strength and determination that gets them through life’s challenges.
“The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett
Brit Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half” was a New York Times bestseller, a GMA book club pick and one of former President Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year in 2020. The story about love and relationships follows twin sisters who run away from their small, southern community as teens to live separate lives – one as a Black woman, the other passing for white.
“Memphis” by Tara Stringfellow
The New York Times Book Review called “Memphis” “a rhapsodic hymn to Black women.” The book tells the story of Joan, a young girl who travels with her mother and younger sister to her mother’s hometown of Memphis to escape her father’s rage. While there, Joan finds relief in painting and learns more about the women in her family.
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” tells the story of Janie Crawford, a young woman who is searching for real love after three marriages to three very different men.
“Sula” by Toni Morrison
In “Sula,” Toni Morrison delivers a touching story of two childhood friends who carry a painful secret that threatens their relationship as adults.
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler
“Kindred” tells the story of a young Black woman who, after a series of strange events, is transported between the 1970s and the Los Angeles home she shares with her white husband to the early 19th Century and a slave plantation in Maryland.
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison
“Toni’s Morrison’s “Beloved” is a New York Times Bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize winner and required reading in many English classes. It tells the story of Sethe a freed slave who is haunted by her past.
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is Maya Angelou’s first memoir. In the book, she writes beautifully about her childhood after being sent to live with her grandmother in a small town in the South. Angelou shares personal stories, including her abuse at the hands of an older man.
“Jubilee” by Margaret Walker
At the center of Margaret Walker’s “Jubilee” is Vyry, the daughter of a white slave plantation owner and his Black mistress. Inspired by Walker’s research and family history, the book is a powerful conversation about the painful realities of slavery.
“October” by Zoë Wicomb
“October” tells the story of Mercia, a Black woman who returns home to South Africa after being abandoned by her partner in Scotland. But when she arrives, she finds her family has been devastated by alcohol and dark secrets.
“Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
Based on the harsh realities of the slave trade, “Homegoing” follows two half-sisters born into different African villages and their descendants – some who stay in Ghana and some who are sold into slavery.
“Cane River” by Lalita Tademy
Lalita Tademy’s bestselling novel “Cane River” is a powerful story of four generations of strong Black women on a journey from slavery to freedom in Creole Louisiana.
“The Temple of My Familiar” by Alice Walker
If you can’t get enough of Alice Walker and the characters in “The Color Purple,” check out “The Temple of My Familiar.” A sequel to her breakout novel, Celie and Shug shadow a cast of characters who are dealing with their unique version of the African experience in America – including Celie’s granddaughter who is living in San Francisco.
“Iola Leroy” by Frances E.W. Harper
In “Iola Leroy,” the daughter of a wealthy Mississippi planter moves North to go to school. But her dreams are detailed when she’s sold into slavery after it is learned that she has Black blood. When she is finally freed, she hopes to put her family back together and help other Black people in America.
