I've had an awfully difficult time writing about this book, so I'll keep my thoughts to a few short points which others have doubtless said better elsewhere. 
 The Color Purple is a series of letters written by a poor Southern black woman, Celie, to God and her sister. Because of who she is, she's placed at the bottom rung of American society due to her race, gender, semi-literacy, and her status as a target of gruesome violence. 
 The writing style is controlled study in dialect. The deliberate choice of an epistolary format allows Walker to carefully construct Celie's development through her writing and her choice of words. Celie's first awkward fumblings slowly transform into a more fluid cadence as she finds some quiet dignity in her life. But even in the earliest segments, raw emotion burns through. To say nothing of the infamous first page. 
 The setting is a study in contrasts. Rural Georgia in the 1920s is a rough place to be poor, black or a woman (to say nothing of all of these), and Walker firmly establishes this setting, especially in contrast with the scenes in West Africa. 
 The Color Purple is deeply emotional and matters for many reasons. I feel bad recommending such a strong book so half-heartedly, but this might be because so much praise has already been said about it. This is one of those cases where all that praise is deserved. 
 4.5/5.