Several years ago, I had a conversation with a group of filmakers who angrily debated the merits of "The Color Purple". Chiefly, we all wondered "What did Alice Walker really think of the movie?"

Well, she tells us here. In the most dull, pretentious and boring prose I've ever read. Self-serving and rambling journal entries. Tired cliches about what it means to be a black bisexual woman. Overreaching liberal claptrap that is better suited for a late-night college bull session than a serious piece of literature.

I felt this book was one of her most personal, and from the start I could not put it down. The Color Purple was the finest book (and film) I have yet to see, although a better book than The Color Purple I don't think can be found. I am very grateful to Alice for publishing this book, as it gives insight into both the book and herself, and I feel it is the most revealing of all her books (so far). Reading it opened a window onto her life, albeit a small window, a window none the less, and for an author, I feel that is one of the bravest and most honourable feats. It allows you to step into her life for a brief moment, which can also heighten the journey taken in some of her other novels. Such as The Temple of My Familiar, which takes you further into the lives of the characters from The Color Purple, and knowing the motivation behind the novel from Alice herself, opens up a whole new aspect of Temple. I feel that to be a true Walker fan, this is a must read.

"The Same River Twice" was a very good book and it gave so much insight into who Alice Walker is as a person. I never knew that Ms. Walker has Lyme disease and that she loved to garden. The casting of certain individuals in certain roles shocked me it never dawned on that Tina Turner was their first choice in playing Shug Avery and that Lola Folana and Diana Ross were also considered for the part. Also I did not know that Ms. Walker had a problem completing the screenplay for the actual movie due her disease. Ms. Walker is one of the best authors of our time and it is a shame that people cannot see the beauty in her work.

I do remember all of the controversy surrounding "The Color Purple" when I was a teenager and how I was forbidden to see the movie. When I finally saw the movie after it had been out on video cassette three years later I was shocked and enlightened all at the same moment. I was shocked at seeing two women kiss and enlightened to see Celie break away from her abusive husband and flourish as person. The book and the movie are different and people should read the book before passing judgement on Ms. Walker's character if they have only seen the movie. I know now Ms. Walker had somewhat of a different vision of her book being made into a movie than Steven.

A nice story about denying a girl who forgot where she came froma blanket. It's worth the 20 minutes it might take to read it if you have NOTHING better to do

I think this book is very good to learn a lesson about hertiage. Of how you should use your hertiage in everyday use and not just hang and display it to others.

I was rather diappointed in this collection. A few of the poems are very nice, but overall the work is bland and dull. The language is so pedestrian. This seems like a real half-hearted attempt at writing. I am sure Walker can do better.

All I can say is wonderful!!! This is one of my very favorite books. Being white,I have not always been as non-racist as I should have. This book will make you look at things in a whole new way, as Alice Walker explores her feelings of Africa, Love, Poetry, Predujust, and the leftover tears of blacks. Hold on. Surely the Earth can be saved for us who insist on love.

Alice Walker writes about the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's through the eyes of Meridian Hill. Walker forces us -- poetically -- to consider our stance on questions of racism, sexism, love and faith. By doing so she causes us to look at how we align ourselves with friends, lovers and family, and what it means to be part of a "community." I read this book the first time 20 years ago and it's themes have stayed fresh for me. A hope-inspiring book, despite the painful issues it addresses. An original novel in all respects.

Alice Walker's book Meridian is a passionate, touching book, in a variety of ways. First of all, it depicts the warped minds and hearts of blacks (and non-racist whites) living in the South in the 1960s. Meridian is a young black woman- who is slightly crazy, yet completely involving and entertaining. Meridian is very different from other people- she feels things more acutely, sensitively, and strongly than other people. Her emotions- anger, hate, pain, suffering, are all depicted with startling clarity. Ths book is in some ways like a poem- and is very different from any other book I've ever read- almost as if the story is a series of dream sequences. Meridian, who is a civil rights worker, is deeply afraid that her people, and race, will dehumanize themselves and lose their souls. I disagree with a reviewer who gave it one star, and critized it for having no ''rising action''. The book has rising action, conflict, and literary techniques, they are just related in a different way- this book does not havea standard chapter form- instead it is a book based entirely on emotions, told in three parts, by Meridian, her black on-and-off boyfriend Truman Held, and her white Northern best friend Lynne. The books clearly conveys that all three of these people have parts of themselves missing- bits of humanity that have been desensitized in the civil rights struggle- and the hate passed from whites to blacks. All of these people are shown as simple young adults- none of them entirely evil, or entirely good, simply trying to survive in this tumultous era. The ending is bittersweet, not entirely happy, but not hopeless either. This book is more about a journey of human beings- than anythng else. It focuses more on characterization than plot- the events seem to be less important than the feelings, thoughts and passions of Meridian, Lynne, and Truman. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the worries, cares, and journey of the soul.

the book doesn't move in chronological order, so it's easy to get confused. i couldn't put this book down, i read it in three days. it depicts the struggle of not only black people during the civil rights movement, but the gender struggle of women. this book touches on issues such as spirituality, forgiveness, and truth. through meridian's eyes, we experience some of the hardships she faced.

I was very disappointed with this book. Alice Walker seems more intent on showcasing her own writing, poems, and emotion than drawing much needed attention to FGM in Africa. There are compelling real-life accounts of FGM--read Desert Flower or Do They Hear you When you Cry.

"Female circumcision" or "female genital mutilation" is a hot topic. Unfortunately, there is "more heat than light" in most writings on this topic: this is a good example. The book and the movie are more about Alice Walker than about this ancient, puzzling, disturbing tradition. It is easy to confuse a topic such as this one with the book that covers it. Those whose first introduction to this subject comes through this book, will probably find it moving. Those who approach the subject seriously and professionally either as clinicians or anthropologists, will find this book a disaster: superficial, arrogant, condescending, ethnocentric, outraged, uninformed, manipulative, anecdotal, loaded with personal bias and without any serious research methodology. It is not a particularly useful contribution to the debate. If you are interested in this subject, the best thing you can do is move immediately beyond this book and come to grips with the real issues. Alice Walker is an intelligent, articulate woman; but she is hoplessly out of her depth here. Overall, a disservice to the women she wants to help.

I first became aware of female genital mutilation (FGM) when reading "The Color Purple," and again when reading Fausiya Kassindja's "Do They Hear You When You Cry." These two books led me to read "Warrior Marks." Female genital mutilation is a crime, an outrage, a sin before God. How dare the originators of this heinous procedure presume that what God created is faulty or a mistake? "Warrior Marks" enhanced what I had already learned about FGM. Any man (or woman) who tries to uphold this procedure as something that benefits girls and women is of a criminal mind. There is no benefit to putting a woman through this torture. If men were required to experience a similar experience, we would soon see the end of FGM. Please read this book if you seek another point of view. The addition of Alice Walker's poetry and the sharing of her experiences as she and Pratibha Parmar traveled through Africa is an eye-opener, and the way the book is written gives the reader a personal view in the same way that Ms. Kassindja's book does. Ms. Walker gives the women that she writes about a certain dignity, and while the reader may not be able to identify with the physical pain, some of the emotions may be felt. This is definitely a 5-star book.