By: Alice Walker
Narrated by: Samira Wiley
Series: Color Purple, Book 1
Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
4.9 out of 5 stars 4.9 (1,065 ratings)
Samira Wiley Answers the Audible Questionnaire
By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison
Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but 18 years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
Perhaps best read on paper
By Mimi on 07-29-06
Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rust belt city to the place of his family's origins, Morrison introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized black world.
Maybe a beautiful story, This author should never narrate
By Student on 01-02-20
By: Kathryn Stockett
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, and others
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
What a great surprise!
By: Harper Lee
Narrated by: Sissy Spacek
Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south - and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as a digital audiobook. One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the 20th century by librarians across the country.
It's all about timing and time
By Fletch on 08-02-14
By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Claire Danes
After a staged terrorist attack kills the President and most of Congress, the government is deposed and taken over by the oppressive and all-controlling Republic of Gilead. Offred is a Handmaid serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name.
Why do people like this
By Jen on 03-28-17
By: Will Smith, Mark Manson
Narrated by: Will Smith
One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had.
Will sure loves Will
By Kejeco on 11-18-21
By: Will Smith, and others
By: Maya Angelou
Narrated by: Maya Angelou
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age - and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. But years later, she learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors.
By KG on 07-28-14
By: Sapphire
Narrated by: Sapphire
An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears, and the world begins to open up for her when a courageous, determined teacher bullies, cajoles, and inspires her to learn to read, to define her own feelings, and set them down in a diary.
By Andrea on 04-27-09
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By: Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Ruby Dee
Their Eyes Were Watching God, an American classic, is the luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern Black woman in the 1930s, whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to 70 years.
Ruby Dee is amazing
By Jennifer on 04-20-13
By: Sue Monk Kidd
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.
Awesome narrator
By Joey on 05-17-10
The Darkest Child
By: Delores Phillips
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's 10 children, but she is also the darkest complected. The Quinns - all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers - live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and her violence, but they are devoted to her. Rozelle pulls her children out of school when they are 12 years old so that they can help support her by going to work.
My heart couldn't take it
By NIXX1993 on 03-01-18
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
As Told to Alex Haley
By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it's performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
Audible Masterpiece
By Phoenician on 09-10-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
By: Fannie Flagg
Narrated by: Lorna Raver
Folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, Fried Green Here is the now-classic novel of two women in the 1980s; of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women - of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth - who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.
Curious What was Left Out of the Movie
By Scott on 04-21-12
The Water Dancer (Oprah's Book Club)
By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Narrated by: Joe Morton
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia's proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.
UGH! I wanted SO much to like this book.
By Carmen Lang on 01-26-20
By: Delia Owens
5 out of 5 stars 206,792
4.5 out of 5 stars 183,844
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand.
Don't listen to the negative reviews.
By Kyle on 12-03-19
By: Cicely Tyson, Michelle Burford
Narrated by: Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis, Robin Miles
Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams.
Disappointed with the background noise
By Marlise Alexandre on 01-29-21
By: Cicely Tyson, and others
By: Terry McMillan
Narrated by: Terry McMillan
Waiting to Exhale is a masterful novel from a writer who has developed a special bond with her audience. Set in Phoenix, Arizona, it's a wise, funny, and resonant story about the friendship between four very different women who have one thing in common: they have not fared well with the men in their lives.
Missing parts of the book. This is not the whole
By Traci Strickland on 05-18-16
By: Margaret Mitchell
Narrated by: Linda Stephens
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
not to miss audible experience
By dallas on 12-08-09
Go Behind the Scenes of The Color Purple
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this novel about a resilient and courageous woman has become a Broadway show and a cultural phenomenon.
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband.
In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband's mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson's wife, Sofia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie's sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie's unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of all.
The Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the ground-breaking novel that placed Walker "in the company of Faulkner" (The Nation), and remains a wrenching - yet intensely uplifting - experience for new generations of listeners.
©1982 Alice Walker (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Classics Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Sagas African American
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Poetry is here to help. This collection features bold, beautiful, Black voices that are beacons of light along this painful journey.
What listeners say about The Color Purple
elizabeth h correa
This book and the performance of it was a gift... a treasure of immeasurable value. My mind, body and soul are better and more complete from having had the pleasure of experiencing it.
L. Hart
Samira, Samira, Samira!!!!
Though I have watched Color Purple at least 50 times, I never read the book. Loved hearing the differences between the movie and book. I feel like I could listen to this over and over again. Awesome narrator.
The best audiobook I've ever listened to
Outstanding story, outstanding writing, outstanding narration. If this book ends up being the best book I read this year, I'll be more than happy. It is undoubtedly the best narration of a book I've ever listened to. For the story and the insight it gives into black slavery and white supremacy in the US and all over in the past century it is a must read. And for the amazing narration of this particular audiobook, it is a must listen. Overall, one of the best reading experiences of my life. Absolutely stunning.
rdubette
Such a great listen
I've always enjoyed the movie, but the book is so much more. The narrator, Samira Riley did an amazing job. I was able to tell the difference between each character, and she made me feel like we were back in that period.
Аmazon Customer
Makes you think of things you never thought before. As usual the surpasses the movie, and the movie was exceptional.
Samira Samira Samira
Amazing! Stunning! Beautiful! Girl! Done with so much heart! Thank You! You are my Celine!
Mia Who Sings
What a performance
I've read the quite a while this audible book isn't just being read, it's being ACTED! One of the best audiobooks I've ever heard. Often it's kind of hard for to get into an audiobook but this had me involved from the first paragraph of the actress's voice.
Mrs.M
Amazingly Beautiful
This reading was everything. The best listen of my Audible life. Thank you for gracing us Ms. Wiley.
MissAngel26
10 stars! I was thoroughly engrossed the entire time... I've only ever seen the movie, and now that Samira has narrated the book, I just wanna say that what they say is true - the book is SOOO MUCH BETTER!!
Kathy Joe
Best Audible ever
I love this book!!! It is my all time favorite. I'm usually a big fan of the horror collection but this is an absolute great change!!
wonderful and inspirational.
What a beautiful story and the performance by the narrator was brilliant. So thought provoking!
N R Boyles
I've seen the film. Which quite rightly is superb. The acting first class and staging perfect.
But the book is so much more. The depth of storytelling cannot be surpassed. The evolution of the characters is sympathetic and the depth of emotion sometimes unbearable. It seems hard to imagine that such a great story, with themes so relevant to our time, that was portrayed so beautifully in film and acted by people of the highest calibre could ever be improved upon. But Samira Wiley has done just that with her reading of this novel. Outstanding.
Jetsuny
outstanding, too beautiful of an experience for me to find words for, other than please treat yourself to this phenomenal piece of work.
Hamze Allaham
Incredibly emotional
Gripping and emotional story filled with hardships and heart breaks. Despite the overwhelming dark moments in the story you are still met with tenderness throughout. The narrator is wonderful at displaying those emotions but i found it hard at times to follow along with the story both because of the way the story is told but also because the narrator was hard to understand at times.
Gualsa
I couldn't understand the narrator
I'm sure it's a great story and it's won lots of prices but I couldn't understand the narrator as they chose someone with such a native broad accent. I gave up after an hour. Such a shame
Fantastic narration and story
Wonderful story and the narration once you get used to the accent is brilliant. Highly recommended
Michael Humphrey
There are just not enough stars
Expertly read, the characters were brought to life, amazing book, beautifully written loved it throughout.
Liz S.
Fantastic narration of a moving story.
I loved this book, I saw the film many years ago but don't remember much of the detail so I can't say how they compare, having listened to this I will have to search out the movie again. The story is so moving, the characters stayed with me even when I wasn't listening and the narration was just perfect.
Zarin Rafiuddin
A Timeless Classic by a Timeless Actor
Samara Wiley has brought the magic and reality out of this seminal text. Highly recommended.
Elena Boos
Beautifully Written and Performed!
What a gripping, emotional and thought-provoking story. Samira Wiley's performance is outstanding! Very well done!
Truly Amazing!!!
Samira Wiley's narration of this great American classic was truly a gem to listen to. Her ability to capture and embody each and every character, through her resonating performance brought Walker's novel to life.