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The Third Life Of Grange Copeland
Alice Walker's first book recounts the lives of three generations growing up in Georgia, where the author herself grew up.
Grange Copeland is a black tenant farmer who is forced to leave his land and family in search of a better future. He heads North but discovers that the racism and poverty he experienced in the South are, in fact, everywhere. When he returns to Georgia years later he finds that his son Brownfield has been imprisoned for the murder of his wife. But hope comes in the form of the third generation as the guardian of the couple's youngest daughter, Grange Copeland, who glimpses a chance of both spiritual and social freedom.
Grange Copeland is a black tenant farmer who is forced to leave his land and family in search of a better future. He heads North but discovers that the racism and poverty he experienced in the South are, in fact, everywhere. When he returns to Georgia years later he finds that his son Brownfield has been imprisoned for the murder of his wife. But hope comes in the form of the third generation as the guardian of the couple's youngest daughter, Grange Copeland, who glimpses a chance of both spiritual and social freedom.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
270 people are currently reading
5,644 people want to read
About the author
Alice Walker
290 books7,011 followersNoted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as
The Color Purple
(1982).
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
May 26, 2020
A motley crew of malcontents populate this soaring novel; the death of a main character early on reverberates throughout the story like some primal scream. After reading Walker's first book, there is a 0% chance that you will feel like you didn't share the lives of the heavenly creatures--you will be there with them for all of their minor glories & devastating pitfalls. It is exemplary writing that describes the darkness of humanity, the lack of it in families & communities. There is a back & forth between the characters and their maudlin anecdotes as to establish a sense of democracy--if not in life then at least in her pages.
The ugly natures of men ruin everything; but what else did you expect from the mind behind 'The Color Purple'? Honey, clouds, solace? Nah. Actually suffering, sadness & mad melancholy.
The ugly natures of men ruin everything; but what else did you expect from the mind behind 'The Color Purple'? Honey, clouds, solace? Nah. Actually suffering, sadness & mad melancholy.
January 21, 2021
Apesar de ser conhecida mundialmente por “A cor púrpura”, premiado romance que denunciou de forma impactante o racismo e machismo no sul dos Estados Unidos, Alice Walker tem uma ampla produção literária. No entanto, temos poucos de seus trabalhos publicados no Brasil e, por isso, a publicação de seu primeiro romance, “A terceira vida de Grange Copeland” (1970), foi recebida com muito entusiasmo - e, para alegria dos leitores, com uma crítica muito positiva.
Confesso que comecei a leitura com não tão altas expectativas, até porque tinha gostado muito de “A cor púrpura” e sabia que outro livro da autora dificilmente poderia superá-lo. A narrativa perpassa três gerações de uma família no sul dos Estados Unidos. Grange Copeland trabalha e depende da terra, que pouco tem a lhe oferecer. E cansado dessa pobreza e da falta de oportunidade para os negros, decide seguir rumo ao norte, deixando tudo - e todos - para trás. Mas a história se repete e, diferentemente do esperado, Copeland não encontra uma vida melhor. Diante disso, resolve retornar ao seu antigo “lar”, onde se depara com o pouco que restou de sua família.
É um cenário de extrema pobreza e repleto de violência. Copeland enxerga em seu filho, Brownfield, as consequências de uma violência que sempre vivenciou. A constante submissão vivida pelas mulheres e filhos nesse cenário é revoltante. A estrutura de poder que vai resistindo às gerações continua deixando marcas - às vezes fatais - em quem está por baixo.
E para construir esse enredo, Alice Walker se vale de uma escrita crua e capaz de transmitir ao leitor a brutalidade física e psicológica vivida pelos mais frágeis. Eu gostei muito do livro e me envolvi bastante com os personagens. Uma das partes que mais me marcou foi, no meio de tanta tristeza, a humanidade na relação de amizade nutrida entre Copeland e sua neta, filha de Brownfield. Isso mostra como a autora conhece sobre o ser humano e sobre a nossa necessidade de criar vínculos e afetos. Vale muito a pena a leitura!
Nota 9,5/10
Leia mais resenhas em https://www.instagram.com/book.ster/
Confesso que comecei a leitura com não tão altas expectativas, até porque tinha gostado muito de “A cor púrpura” e sabia que outro livro da autora dificilmente poderia superá-lo. A narrativa perpassa três gerações de uma família no sul dos Estados Unidos. Grange Copeland trabalha e depende da terra, que pouco tem a lhe oferecer. E cansado dessa pobreza e da falta de oportunidade para os negros, decide seguir rumo ao norte, deixando tudo - e todos - para trás. Mas a história se repete e, diferentemente do esperado, Copeland não encontra uma vida melhor. Diante disso, resolve retornar ao seu antigo “lar”, onde se depara com o pouco que restou de sua família.
É um cenário de extrema pobreza e repleto de violência. Copeland enxerga em seu filho, Brownfield, as consequências de uma violência que sempre vivenciou. A constante submissão vivida pelas mulheres e filhos nesse cenário é revoltante. A estrutura de poder que vai resistindo às gerações continua deixando marcas - às vezes fatais - em quem está por baixo.
E para construir esse enredo, Alice Walker se vale de uma escrita crua e capaz de transmitir ao leitor a brutalidade física e psicológica vivida pelos mais frágeis. Eu gostei muito do livro e me envolvi bastante com os personagens. Uma das partes que mais me marcou foi, no meio de tanta tristeza, a humanidade na relação de amizade nutrida entre Copeland e sua neta, filha de Brownfield. Isso mostra como a autora conhece sobre o ser humano e sobre a nossa necessidade de criar vínculos e afetos. Vale muito a pena a leitura!
Nota 9,5/10
Leia mais resenhas em https://www.instagram.com/book.ster/
November 11, 2023
”L’anima che abbiamo dentro è nostra,
ti pare?
Ho iniziato questo libro senza grandi aspettative.
Alice Walker lo scrisse a soli 25 anni, dodici anni prima di quello che sarà la sua opera più nota, ossia “Il colore viola”.
Nelle mie previsioni, pertanto, questa lettura mi avrebbe dato qualche coordinata sui primi passi di quest’autrice, nulla di più.
La terza vita di Grange Copeland, invece, tutto sembra tranne che un esordio di una giovane ragazza.
Ho trovato una maturità su più livelli:
la scrittura, la costruzione narrativa e la saggezza di un messaggio umano importante.
La storia si dipana nell’arco di un ventennio -dalla fine degli anni ’40 alla fine degli anni ’60- ed ha come protagonista una famiglia afroamericana:
i Copeland, poveri mezzadri della Georgia.
E’ un mondo di relazioni famigliari storpiate dalla frustrazione del vivere in una società che quotidianamente ti calpesta.
Il libro si apre con lo sguardo di un bambino, il suo nome è Brownfield.
E’ il figlio di una rassegnazione che ha radici già dal suo nome:
«E lui come lo chiamiamo?», aveva chiesto a Margaret, senza provare nessuna esultanza per la nascita di suo figlio.
Sprofondata nella depressione, lei gli chiese con indifferenza:
«Qual è la prima cosa che vedi?»
E lui, fermo davanti alla porta, vide le sfumature autunnali dei campi di cotone della Georgia. «Mah, dei campi di un colore un po’ marrone», aveva risposto.
E si era chiesto, senza nessuna speranza, se quello non fosse il colore che copriva anche il resto dell’universo.
«Colore marrone», aveva detto lei, allontanando il piccolo addormentato dal tiepido riposo sul suo seno.
«Un campo marrone. Brownfield».
In lei non c’era nemmeno pietà per il suo bambino.
«È un nome buono quanto un altro, Brownfield o Re Alberto è la stessa cosa», disse.
«Tanto il nome che gli diamo non farà nessuna differenza».
Lo stava già abbandonando a ciò che era pronto a impadronirsi della sua vita.
Dopo solo due anni di matrimonio lei sapeva che nel mondo della piantagione la madre era la seconda in comando, mentre il padre non comandava per niente.
Grange all’inizio del romanzo è un fantasma che si aggira tra tragici ricordi.
Se n’è andato lasciando dietro di sé immagini dolorose come lividi indelebili ma il tempo passa e Brownfield non farà altro che ripetere il copione paterno.
Sono generazioni che si passano un testimone inquietante fatto di comportamenti che, tristemente, diventano paradigmi.
La rabbia che scaturisce dai soprusi del Bianco, la povertà, la fame trovano sfogo nell’alcool ed un eccesso di violenza in cui si rifugia l’illusione di una virilità mancata.
Le donne, allo stesso modo, s’immettono in questo circolo vizioso dove si alternano gravidanze e violenze di ogni tipo.
Tutto sembra destinato a ripetersi se non fosse per la presenza di due mine vaganti.
Mem. moglie Brownfield, come ci ricorda in postfazione la Walker, deriva dal francese «la même», vale a dire «la stessa» simboleggia, una condizione femminile universale e rappresenta la volontà di ribellarsi ai soprusi.
E poi c’è, ovviamente. Grange.
La terza vita, annunciata dal titolo del romanzo, che Grange vive è quella in cui spezza questo cerchio semplicemente assumendosi colpe e responsabilità delle proprie azioni.
Cosa significa veramente «essere un uomo»?
Una storia che parla dei diversi strati dell'oppressione:
una lunga catena che arriva da tempi lontani e che può essere spezzata solo con l’onestà di chi sa guardarsi dentro ed ammettere di aver sbagliato perché è vero che abbiamo una sola vita ma quando si cade ci si può rialzare anche per la terza volta...
«Perdiana, lo so che è pericoloso dare tutta la colpa a qualcun altro per come ci si è rovinati la vita. Ci sono cascato anch’io in quella trappola! E non posso fare a meno di credere che è così che i bianchi riescono a corromperti anche se fin là ce l’hai fatta a tenere duro. Perché quando ti hanno convinto che la colpa di tutto ce l’hanno loro possono farti credere che sono delle specie di padreterni! Non puoi fare qualche fesseria senza che dietro ci siano loro. Diventi un pappamolle, non hai più voglia di fare niente per conto tuo. Allora ti metti ad architettare cattiverie e a distruggere tutti quelli che ti stanno intorno, e dai la colpa ai musi bianchi. Stronzate! Nessuno è potente quanto vorremmo far credere noi. L’anima che abbiamo dentro è nostra, ti pare?»
-----------------------------
Questo romanzo fu pubblicato in Italia solo nel 1989.
Un ringraziamento profondo a Sur per questa nuova edizione e alla intensa traduzione di Andreina Lombardi Bom.
Mi auguro che Alice Walker venga riscoperta anche in altre sue opere!
ti pare?
Ho iniziato questo libro senza grandi aspettative.
Alice Walker lo scrisse a soli 25 anni, dodici anni prima di quello che sarà la sua opera più nota, ossia “Il colore viola”.
Nelle mie previsioni, pertanto, questa lettura mi avrebbe dato qualche coordinata sui primi passi di quest’autrice, nulla di più.
La terza vita di Grange Copeland, invece, tutto sembra tranne che un esordio di una giovane ragazza.
Ho trovato una maturità su più livelli:
la scrittura, la costruzione narrativa e la saggezza di un messaggio umano importante.
La storia si dipana nell’arco di un ventennio -dalla fine degli anni ’40 alla fine degli anni ’60- ed ha come protagonista una famiglia afroamericana:
i Copeland, poveri mezzadri della Georgia.
E’ un mondo di relazioni famigliari storpiate dalla frustrazione del vivere in una società che quotidianamente ti calpesta.
Il libro si apre con lo sguardo di un bambino, il suo nome è Brownfield.
E’ il figlio di una rassegnazione che ha radici già dal suo nome:
«E lui come lo chiamiamo?», aveva chiesto a Margaret, senza provare nessuna esultanza per la nascita di suo figlio.
Sprofondata nella depressione, lei gli chiese con indifferenza:
«Qual è la prima cosa che vedi?»
E lui, fermo davanti alla porta, vide le sfumature autunnali dei campi di cotone della Georgia. «Mah, dei campi di un colore un po’ marrone», aveva risposto.
E si era chiesto, senza nessuna speranza, se quello non fosse il colore che copriva anche il resto dell’universo.
«Colore marrone», aveva detto lei, allontanando il piccolo addormentato dal tiepido riposo sul suo seno.
«Un campo marrone. Brownfield».
In lei non c’era nemmeno pietà per il suo bambino.
«È un nome buono quanto un altro, Brownfield o Re Alberto è la stessa cosa», disse.
«Tanto il nome che gli diamo non farà nessuna differenza».
Lo stava già abbandonando a ciò che era pronto a impadronirsi della sua vita.
Dopo solo due anni di matrimonio lei sapeva che nel mondo della piantagione la madre era la seconda in comando, mentre il padre non comandava per niente.
Grange all’inizio del romanzo è un fantasma che si aggira tra tragici ricordi.
Se n’è andato lasciando dietro di sé immagini dolorose come lividi indelebili ma il tempo passa e Brownfield non farà altro che ripetere il copione paterno.
Sono generazioni che si passano un testimone inquietante fatto di comportamenti che, tristemente, diventano paradigmi.
La rabbia che scaturisce dai soprusi del Bianco, la povertà, la fame trovano sfogo nell’alcool ed un eccesso di violenza in cui si rifugia l’illusione di una virilità mancata.
Le donne, allo stesso modo, s’immettono in questo circolo vizioso dove si alternano gravidanze e violenze di ogni tipo.
Tutto sembra destinato a ripetersi se non fosse per la presenza di due mine vaganti.
Mem. moglie Brownfield, come ci ricorda in postfazione la Walker, deriva dal francese «la même», vale a dire «la stessa» simboleggia, una condizione femminile universale e rappresenta la volontà di ribellarsi ai soprusi.
E poi c’è, ovviamente. Grange.
La terza vita, annunciata dal titolo del romanzo, che Grange vive è quella in cui spezza questo cerchio semplicemente assumendosi colpe e responsabilità delle proprie azioni.
Cosa significa veramente «essere un uomo»?
Una storia che parla dei diversi strati dell'oppressione:
una lunga catena che arriva da tempi lontani e che può essere spezzata solo con l’onestà di chi sa guardarsi dentro ed ammettere di aver sbagliato perché è vero che abbiamo una sola vita ma quando si cade ci si può rialzare anche per la terza volta...
«Perdiana, lo so che è pericoloso dare tutta la colpa a qualcun altro per come ci si è rovinati la vita. Ci sono cascato anch’io in quella trappola! E non posso fare a meno di credere che è così che i bianchi riescono a corromperti anche se fin là ce l’hai fatta a tenere duro. Perché quando ti hanno convinto che la colpa di tutto ce l’hanno loro possono farti credere che sono delle specie di padreterni! Non puoi fare qualche fesseria senza che dietro ci siano loro. Diventi un pappamolle, non hai più voglia di fare niente per conto tuo. Allora ti metti ad architettare cattiverie e a distruggere tutti quelli che ti stanno intorno, e dai la colpa ai musi bianchi. Stronzate! Nessuno è potente quanto vorremmo far credere noi. L’anima che abbiamo dentro è nostra, ti pare?»
-----------------------------
Questo romanzo fu pubblicato in Italia solo nel 1989.
Un ringraziamento profondo a Sur per questa nuova edizione e alla intensa traduzione di Andreina Lombardi Bom.
Mi auguro che Alice Walker venga riscoperta anche in altre sue opere!
May 19, 2018
Alice Walker explores the connection between brutal, dehumanizing, economically crippling racism and brutal, degrading, crippling domestic violence. The story begins in 1929 rural Georgia with Grange Copeland taking out his degradation on his wife and son. With a dead mother and a disappeared father, that son goes on to repeat the pattern despite his pledge to be different. But when Grange is able to confront his rage and name its source, he is able to return to his home and provide his granddaughter with the love and protection he could not give his son. The son, unable to look into himself, continues to project the self-loathing onto his family. This story was populated with difficult characters to like, in an ugly world, revealing too much horrible truth about the impact of racism in this country which too many do not want to face. Yet, Walker managed to portray the sad humanity in a way that made the reader care and understand even while condemning virtually every moment, every interaction. This would have been a solid 4 star novel had I not been comparing it constantly to “The Color Purple”. Nonetheless, I will round my 3.5 star rating to 4 stars.
March 27, 2021
“All that you have is your soul”, si potrebbe sintetizzare così questo romanzo. La voce e il testo di Tracy Chapman possono esserne la colonna sonora:
https://youtu.be/8QwvqKMXhL8
“«L’anima che abbiamo dentro è nostra, ti pare?», chiede il magnifico vecchio Grange Copeland al figlio Brownfield, che purtroppo non è in grado di rispondere affermativamente a questa domanda“
Così scrive Alice Walker nella postfazione:
“In una società nella quale tutto sembra sacrificabile, cosa rimane da tenersi stretto, da proteggere a ogni costo, da difendere a prezzo della propria vita? Sono propensa a credere, purtroppo, che in passato ci fosse tra i neri un riconoscimento del valore della propria anima maggiore di quanto ce ne sia al giorno d’oggi; siamo diventati più simili ai nostri oppressori di quanto molti di noi riescano ad ammettere. L’espressione to have soul, «avere anima», tanto spesso pronunciata dai nostri antenati per descrivere una persona di una certa levatura, prima voleva dire qualcosa. Avere soldi, avere potere, avere fama, perfino avere «libertà», non sono affatto la stessa cosa.”
In questo romanzo d’esordio di Alice Walker ci sono tutti i temi a lei cari: quello razziale e quello “femminista”.
“«Due torti non fanno un diritto», dicevano. «Tutti hanno diritto all’albero della vita», dicevano. «Vogliamo la nostra libertà e la vogliamo subito», dicevano. Le donne e i bambini neri non si limitavano a ripetere passivamente queste dichiarazioni, ma erano proprio loro, insieme agli uomini neri, a elaborarle.”
Il romanzo ruota attorno al truce femminicidio di Mem, la moglie di Brownfield e la mamma di Ruth: una donna forte, intelligente, colta, che prova a elevare la propria condizione, ma che il marito fa di tutto per sottometterla.
E questa scena prende spunto da un fatto realmente accaduto. Ecco perché Alice Walker chiama questa protagonista Mem, la même, la stessa:
“Vedendo il corpo senza vita della signora Walker là su quel tavolo smaltato, mi ero resa conto che in effetti lei avrebbe potuto essere mia madre e che forse simboleggiava anche tutte le donne nel loro rapporto con gli uomini, comprese non solo la nonna e la madre di mio marito, che avevo creduto diversissime dalle mie, ma anche me stessa. Ecco perché nel romanzo quel personaggio si chiama Mem, dal francese la même, vale a dire «la stessa».”
Alla pochezza di Brownfield si contrappone la levatura del padre Grange, che non ha rinunciato ad avere la sua anima, nonostante i suoi errori.
Il tentativo di riscatto di Mem non muore con lei, ma si tramanda alla figlia Ruth che crescerà sotto l’ala protettrice di Grange.
“Come possono una famiglia, una comunità, una razza, una nazione, un mondo, essere sani e forti se una loro metà sottomette l’altra tramite minacce, intimidazioni e veri e propri atti di violenza? Vivendo nel Mississippi era facile per me capire come la violenza razzista prosciugasse la forza e la creatività dell’intera popolazione.”
Grange restituisce a Ruth quello che suo padre Brownfield ha tentato in ogni modo di negarle.
Grange consegna a Ruth un futuro, la speranza di farcela:
“«Non ce la possiamo fare», disse Ruth, mentre sfrecciavano a rotta di collo verso casa, con le sirene che già ululavano dietro di loro.
«Io no», disse Grange, «ma tu sì». Si passò una mano sugli occhi. «Chi ha fatto quello che ho appena fatto io non merita di vivere. Quando fai una cosa del genere rinunci a ogni diritto». Si accasciò sul sedile.”
A Ruth resta la forza degli insegnamenti del nonno, il coraggio di sua madre:
“Here I am, I'm waiting for a better day
A second chance
A little luck to come my way
A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again
And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands
'Cause all that you have is your soul
So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul
Oh my mama told me
'Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don't give or sell your soul away
'Cause all that you have is your soul”
Tra 4 e 5 stelle.
https://youtu.be/8QwvqKMXhL8
“«L’anima che abbiamo dentro è nostra, ti pare?», chiede il magnifico vecchio Grange Copeland al figlio Brownfield, che purtroppo non è in grado di rispondere affermativamente a questa domanda“
Così scrive Alice Walker nella postfazione:
“In una società nella quale tutto sembra sacrificabile, cosa rimane da tenersi stretto, da proteggere a ogni costo, da difendere a prezzo della propria vita? Sono propensa a credere, purtroppo, che in passato ci fosse tra i neri un riconoscimento del valore della propria anima maggiore di quanto ce ne sia al giorno d’oggi; siamo diventati più simili ai nostri oppressori di quanto molti di noi riescano ad ammettere. L’espressione to have soul, «avere anima», tanto spesso pronunciata dai nostri antenati per descrivere una persona di una certa levatura, prima voleva dire qualcosa. Avere soldi, avere potere, avere fama, perfino avere «libertà», non sono affatto la stessa cosa.”
In questo romanzo d’esordio di Alice Walker ci sono tutti i temi a lei cari: quello razziale e quello “femminista”.
“«Due torti non fanno un diritto», dicevano. «Tutti hanno diritto all’albero della vita», dicevano. «Vogliamo la nostra libertà e la vogliamo subito», dicevano. Le donne e i bambini neri non si limitavano a ripetere passivamente queste dichiarazioni, ma erano proprio loro, insieme agli uomini neri, a elaborarle.”
Il romanzo ruota attorno al truce femminicidio di Mem, la moglie di Brownfield e la mamma di Ruth: una donna forte, intelligente, colta, che prova a elevare la propria condizione, ma che il marito fa di tutto per sottometterla.
E questa scena prende spunto da un fatto realmente accaduto. Ecco perché Alice Walker chiama questa protagonista Mem, la même, la stessa:
“Vedendo il corpo senza vita della signora Walker là su quel tavolo smaltato, mi ero resa conto che in effetti lei avrebbe potuto essere mia madre e che forse simboleggiava anche tutte le donne nel loro rapporto con gli uomini, comprese non solo la nonna e la madre di mio marito, che avevo creduto diversissime dalle mie, ma anche me stessa. Ecco perché nel romanzo quel personaggio si chiama Mem, dal francese la même, vale a dire «la stessa».”
Alla pochezza di Brownfield si contrappone la levatura del padre Grange, che non ha rinunciato ad avere la sua anima, nonostante i suoi errori.
Il tentativo di riscatto di Mem non muore con lei, ma si tramanda alla figlia Ruth che crescerà sotto l’ala protettrice di Grange.
“Come possono una famiglia, una comunità, una razza, una nazione, un mondo, essere sani e forti se una loro metà sottomette l’altra tramite minacce, intimidazioni e veri e propri atti di violenza? Vivendo nel Mississippi era facile per me capire come la violenza razzista prosciugasse la forza e la creatività dell’intera popolazione.”
Grange restituisce a Ruth quello che suo padre Brownfield ha tentato in ogni modo di negarle.
Grange consegna a Ruth un futuro, la speranza di farcela:
“«Non ce la possiamo fare», disse Ruth, mentre sfrecciavano a rotta di collo verso casa, con le sirene che già ululavano dietro di loro.
«Io no», disse Grange, «ma tu sì». Si passò una mano sugli occhi. «Chi ha fatto quello che ho appena fatto io non merita di vivere. Quando fai una cosa del genere rinunci a ogni diritto». Si accasciò sul sedile.”
A Ruth resta la forza degli insegnamenti del nonno, il coraggio di sua madre:
“Here I am, I'm waiting for a better day
A second chance
A little luck to come my way
A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again
And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands
'Cause all that you have is your soul
So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul
Oh my mama told me
'Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don't give or sell your soul away
'Cause all that you have is your soul”
Tra 4 e 5 stelle.
June 27, 2012
While I am a die hard fan of The Color Purple, some years ago I stumbled upon this lesser known, yet equally as moving novel by Alice Walker. The Third Life of Grange Copeland gives a realistic glimpse into life as a black man in the early to mid twentieth century, chronicling the inevitable personal and societal changes that come with maturity, wisdom and time. Grange is a man with deep flaws and Ms. Walker's story telling leads the reader through a series of emotions toward him, ranging from sorrow to anger to eventual acceptance and understanding.
Despite the fictional nature of the story, the book challenges readers to face life as it was during that time and the impact that slavery and racism had on real lives. Grange and his family may (or may not) be figments of Ms. Walker's imagination, but she brings them to life in the most masterful way. In addition to the vibrancy of the characters, Ms. Walker equally immerses the reader's senses in the backdrop of the times through a salient yet satisfying level of detail.
If you loved the Color Purple, I have no doubt you will love The Third Life of Grange Copeland.
Despite the fictional nature of the story, the book challenges readers to face life as it was during that time and the impact that slavery and racism had on real lives. Grange and his family may (or may not) be figments of Ms. Walker's imagination, but she brings them to life in the most masterful way. In addition to the vibrancy of the characters, Ms. Walker equally immerses the reader's senses in the backdrop of the times through a salient yet satisfying level of detail.
If you loved the Color Purple, I have no doubt you will love The Third Life of Grange Copeland.
May 7, 2021
Schiacciato dai debiti e mosso dal proprio carattere intemperante e autodistruttivo, il mezzadro di colore Grange Copeland lascia la moglie e il figlio Brownfield per cercare fortuna al nord. Anni dopo, sconfitto per la seconda volta nella sua ricerca di una vita migliore, fa ritorno nella contea di Baker, in Georgia, solo per scoprire le terribili conseguenze degli errori del passato: ora Brownfield ha a sua volta una moglie e delle figlie, sulle quali sfoga brutalmente le frustrazioni dell'abbandono e della povertà. In un mondo in cui l'ingiustizia e il ciclo della violenza sembrano non avere mai fine, sarà il legame con la nipotina Ruth a restituire a Grange il rispetto di sé e a fargli riscoprire il valore dell'amore e della compassione. Questo è il romanzo d'esordio di Alice Walker e sono super contenta che la casa editrice abbia deciso di ristampare i suoi romanzi.
Ambientato in Georgia, racconta la storia di Grange, e delle occasioni che la vita gli presenta. I libri di Alice Walker sono una immersione nelle nefandezze dell'uomo, ma sempre con una seconda possibilità che permette il protagonista di riscattarsi. Qui viene raccontata una storia straziante e cruda di uno spaccato della Georgia, con una scrittura diretta e senza filtri. Come per "Il colore viola" mi ha di nuovo colpito il linguaggio dei personaggi, semplice e a volte sgrammaticato, e la conseguente traduzione nella nostra lingua, che non pregiudica assolutamente la lettura, ma anzi rende la storia più verosimile.
Lo consiglio a tutti quelli che hanno amato "Il colore viola" amerete anche questo è lo sicuro!
Ambientato in Georgia, racconta la storia di Grange, e delle occasioni che la vita gli presenta. I libri di Alice Walker sono una immersione nelle nefandezze dell'uomo, ma sempre con una seconda possibilità che permette il protagonista di riscattarsi. Qui viene raccontata una storia straziante e cruda di uno spaccato della Georgia, con una scrittura diretta e senza filtri. Come per "Il colore viola" mi ha di nuovo colpito il linguaggio dei personaggi, semplice e a volte sgrammaticato, e la conseguente traduzione nella nostra lingua, che non pregiudica assolutamente la lettura, ma anzi rende la storia più verosimile.
Lo consiglio a tutti quelli che hanno amato "Il colore viola" amerete anche questo è lo sicuro!
April 8, 2014
Better than The Color Purple, Walker's first novel is staunchly feminist (in a completely modern human rights kind of way), with a startlingly transparent look into the male characters' motives and perspective on domestic violence. That the reader comes to love such a hateful character as Grange Copeland and feels hope and anger and sorrow and pity for another (who did some truly diabolical things that made me gasp) is testament to Walker's huge talent. This story, while packed with important social observations, lacks the lecturing tone I feel from a lot of her later work.
It is interesting --- to me, anyway, because I like to think about how outside influences shape stories --- to note that while Walker was writing this novel, she was falling in love with, engaged to, and newly married to a Jewish civil rights lawyer from Brooklyn. She finished the book just weeks before their daughter was born.
It is interesting --- to me, anyway, because I like to think about how outside influences shape stories --- to note that while Walker was writing this novel, she was falling in love with, engaged to, and newly married to a Jewish civil rights lawyer from Brooklyn. She finished the book just weeks before their daughter was born.
February 5, 2023
esse livro é um soco no estômago!
March 11, 2017
This book published in 1970, is Ms Walker's first book and what a debut. The Third Life of Grange Copeland is primarily set in Baker County, Georgia, tells the story of a family and its cycle of abuse, hatred and oppression.
I admit that I love this book more than I did the fantastic The Color Purple.
Ms Walker's writing is beautifully crafted, her unfaltering prose traverses the oppressive South to the cold North of pre-Civil Rights Movement USA, unflinchingly telling the story of humanity, and it's struggle for identity, hope and redemption.
I admit that I love this book more than I did the fantastic The Color Purple.
Ms Walker's writing is beautifully crafted, her unfaltering prose traverses the oppressive South to the cold North of pre-Civil Rights Movement USA, unflinchingly telling the story of humanity, and it's struggle for identity, hope and redemption.
May 9, 2008
Love it, love it. It's not like Alice Walker's later books, after she fell under the spell of Carl Jung. More simple, more homespun, same soul. One of my favorites of her books.
August 27, 2017
How can a family, a community, a race, a nation, a world, be healthy and strong if one half dominates the other half through threats, intimidation and actual acts of violence?
-Alice Walker, Afterward: The Third Life of Grange Copeland
This is a very timely novel by the incomparable Ms. Alice Walker. It is a joy and a sorrow that a novel of this subject matter is still relevant in 2017. I wish more would read it or it would be formatted into a movie so that the masses can receive the messages and the thoughts derived from a dialogue about this book opened. Because unfortunately the conversation about race and acceptance seems to never end. This book as Alice tells us in her Afterward was written in the late 60's. This was a time when the subject of Civil Rights was the topic of most conversations. Alice felt it necessary to take on this subject in a way that is tempestuous yet imperative. Yes, a lot of who we are as a race has to do with being the downtrodden of society for centuries but as Grange Copland says in this book, "We own our own souls, don't we?" No matter what institution one finds ones physical body, ones soul is as free as they themselves allow it to be. Who is free and who is mentally enslaved? Because the truth is you can be a slave mentally to many devices. No matter where in the world you find your body, it's your own choice where one can find your mind.
This is a story of African American hardship. A classic Alice Walker narrative of the pains and struggles in the Black community. The book takes place in Georgia in 1920 and follows the Copelands up to the 1960's. The story centers around two main figures Grange Copeland and his son Brownfield. Both experience a harsh life filled with oppression in the racist south. They both deal with it in different yet similar ways. Grange, learned the lesson from his life experiences and in his own way found a way to harness the reins of his own soul and take control of his life and responsibility for his actions. Brownfield thinking that he was following in his father's footsteps somewhere slid off the path to right and chose to live consistently in the wrong. For Brownfield there was no accountability for the actions he forced upon the world only blame. If he was not born into the white mans world, he said. If his father hadn't done this. If his mother hadn't done that. If his wife had done this. Or his children done that. Because he carried the overbearing weight of the inferiority he was fed and accepted his self loathing caused him to habitually play the victim. Because it was everyone's fault but his own that he supposedly suffered so, he could not stand for anyone else being anything else but as miserable as he was. His misery must have its company even if he had to reek havoc to get it. To make him feel superior and like a man he chose not to draw to himself situations to build upon his character but to tear everyone else's down around him and burn it to embers. He was conniving and plotting and devious and sick and despicable. He was one of the most hateful characters written. A person who hates them self is always dangerous. A lot of things can come out of hate. But sometimes very rarely a little bit of love can seep out. And that is who Ruth is. Brownfield's daughter and Grange's beloved granddaughter Ruth, in one way and another is the thing that binds them both and sets them a part till the end. Ruth is the new blood who carries the promise of a little love in a world of hate for the Copelands. Grange vindicated. Brownfield finally silent.
The craziest thing about my experience with this book is that I have probably owned this book for three years and I am just now reading it. And who knows maybe the reading of this subject matter in conjunction with the country's latest events were saved for a time such as this. I always believe there is a right and a wrong time for reading certain books. We may not be ready or the climate might not be right for us to receive the content of a book. That said, this was the right time to meet the Copelands. The second interesting thing about my experience with this book was found within the leaves of the book itself. Being a used book reader, I'm used to finding margin comments. I usually try to avoid copies that have notes but sometimes a quick flip through at the book store or an online order doesn't reveal them a head of time. This random commenter and I shared a lot of similar thoughts and I found myself spurred into contemplation various times encouraged by my random margin commenter. Whomever they are I'm thankful for that. It was nice and helpful for a change. I hated Brownfield. As confirmed in my many comments as I read the book. He was a despicable character. As I continued through this book and even to the end I can't understand why this is not a movie. It had a slight A Color Purple feel to the delivery of the narrative. My hope is that someone will bring this book to screen and most of all not mess it up if they do.
Of course this is 5 stars. It's an Alice Walker book. You won't want to put this book down. Don't judge the book by how long it took me to read it. I'm not reading as fast as I used to for some reason but every time I picked it up I was looking forward to reading. By the end I was talking back to it, yelling and reading out whole sections to my husband, who did not read the book but felt like he did by my constant briefings and chapter updates. We enjoyed it. I recommend this book. And I look forward to chatting about the characters with other readers of the book. I think this is essential reading.
After thought: When I finish a book I go to look at other reviews. Some people didn't bother finishing this wonderful book saying that it wasn't their thing. They didn't want to read it. A few said it was too sad or not happy. #1 We all have our reading moods and favorite genres but I can't help wondering if those who put it down just didn't want to open themselves up to the real conversations and subjects that this book definitely brings up. #2 Happy? Since when is anything based on real life 100% happy? Life is real and I get wanting to escape. There are books for this too but real life is not always sweet and nice and cutesie especially when you are talking about race relations and struggle. Read it. Feel it. One reader said she cried. Good! Feel it because we have to feel to acknowledge and acknowledge in order to change!
-Alice Walker, Afterward: The Third Life of Grange Copeland
This is a very timely novel by the incomparable Ms. Alice Walker. It is a joy and a sorrow that a novel of this subject matter is still relevant in 2017. I wish more would read it or it would be formatted into a movie so that the masses can receive the messages and the thoughts derived from a dialogue about this book opened. Because unfortunately the conversation about race and acceptance seems to never end. This book as Alice tells us in her Afterward was written in the late 60's. This was a time when the subject of Civil Rights was the topic of most conversations. Alice felt it necessary to take on this subject in a way that is tempestuous yet imperative. Yes, a lot of who we are as a race has to do with being the downtrodden of society for centuries but as Grange Copland says in this book, "We own our own souls, don't we?" No matter what institution one finds ones physical body, ones soul is as free as they themselves allow it to be. Who is free and who is mentally enslaved? Because the truth is you can be a slave mentally to many devices. No matter where in the world you find your body, it's your own choice where one can find your mind.
This is a story of African American hardship. A classic Alice Walker narrative of the pains and struggles in the Black community. The book takes place in Georgia in 1920 and follows the Copelands up to the 1960's. The story centers around two main figures Grange Copeland and his son Brownfield. Both experience a harsh life filled with oppression in the racist south. They both deal with it in different yet similar ways. Grange, learned the lesson from his life experiences and in his own way found a way to harness the reins of his own soul and take control of his life and responsibility for his actions. Brownfield thinking that he was following in his father's footsteps somewhere slid off the path to right and chose to live consistently in the wrong. For Brownfield there was no accountability for the actions he forced upon the world only blame. If he was not born into the white mans world, he said. If his father hadn't done this. If his mother hadn't done that. If his wife had done this. Or his children done that. Because he carried the overbearing weight of the inferiority he was fed and accepted his self loathing caused him to habitually play the victim. Because it was everyone's fault but his own that he supposedly suffered so, he could not stand for anyone else being anything else but as miserable as he was. His misery must have its company even if he had to reek havoc to get it. To make him feel superior and like a man he chose not to draw to himself situations to build upon his character but to tear everyone else's down around him and burn it to embers. He was conniving and plotting and devious and sick and despicable. He was one of the most hateful characters written. A person who hates them self is always dangerous. A lot of things can come out of hate. But sometimes very rarely a little bit of love can seep out. And that is who Ruth is. Brownfield's daughter and Grange's beloved granddaughter Ruth, in one way and another is the thing that binds them both and sets them a part till the end. Ruth is the new blood who carries the promise of a little love in a world of hate for the Copelands. Grange vindicated. Brownfield finally silent.
The craziest thing about my experience with this book is that I have probably owned this book for three years and I am just now reading it. And who knows maybe the reading of this subject matter in conjunction with the country's latest events were saved for a time such as this. I always believe there is a right and a wrong time for reading certain books. We may not be ready or the climate might not be right for us to receive the content of a book. That said, this was the right time to meet the Copelands. The second interesting thing about my experience with this book was found within the leaves of the book itself. Being a used book reader, I'm used to finding margin comments. I usually try to avoid copies that have notes but sometimes a quick flip through at the book store or an online order doesn't reveal them a head of time. This random commenter and I shared a lot of similar thoughts and I found myself spurred into contemplation various times encouraged by my random margin commenter. Whomever they are I'm thankful for that. It was nice and helpful for a change. I hated Brownfield. As confirmed in my many comments as I read the book. He was a despicable character. As I continued through this book and even to the end I can't understand why this is not a movie. It had a slight A Color Purple feel to the delivery of the narrative. My hope is that someone will bring this book to screen and most of all not mess it up if they do.
Of course this is 5 stars. It's an Alice Walker book. You won't want to put this book down. Don't judge the book by how long it took me to read it. I'm not reading as fast as I used to for some reason but every time I picked it up I was looking forward to reading. By the end I was talking back to it, yelling and reading out whole sections to my husband, who did not read the book but felt like he did by my constant briefings and chapter updates. We enjoyed it. I recommend this book. And I look forward to chatting about the characters with other readers of the book. I think this is essential reading.
After thought: When I finish a book I go to look at other reviews. Some people didn't bother finishing this wonderful book saying that it wasn't their thing. They didn't want to read it. A few said it was too sad or not happy. #1 We all have our reading moods and favorite genres but I can't help wondering if those who put it down just didn't want to open themselves up to the real conversations and subjects that this book definitely brings up. #2 Happy? Since when is anything based on real life 100% happy? Life is real and I get wanting to escape. There are books for this too but real life is not always sweet and nice and cutesie especially when you are talking about race relations and struggle. Read it. Feel it. One reader said she cried. Good! Feel it because we have to feel to acknowledge and acknowledge in order to change!
Read
December 10, 2020rtc
August 15, 2012
An enlightening book about violence within the black community in the deep south mainly by men against their own families. The men are so angry at their unfair position in society that they take it out on their wives and children and then in turn blame it on their treatment at the hands of white people.
At the beginning of the book Grange is married with a young son, Brownfield. The family lead a miserable, poor existence with Grange barely acknowledging his son and frittering away what little money they have on booze, gambling and women. He heads North looking for something better and returns years later to find that his son is basically leading the exact same life he did only Brownfield is even more embittered, vicious and nasty. When Brownfield kills his wife, Grange finds he has another chance at family life by taking over the care of Brownfield's daughter Ruth.
There are some really shocking moments in this book and some horrible violence but in places it's humourous and heart-warming. The language is harsh but the book is so beautifully written with such strong characters that you get carried along by the story without feeling that she's trying to shock. This is the first book I've read by Alice Walker, think I'll have to get a copy of The Color Purple!
At the beginning of the book Grange is married with a young son, Brownfield. The family lead a miserable, poor existence with Grange barely acknowledging his son and frittering away what little money they have on booze, gambling and women. He heads North looking for something better and returns years later to find that his son is basically leading the exact same life he did only Brownfield is even more embittered, vicious and nasty. When Brownfield kills his wife, Grange finds he has another chance at family life by taking over the care of Brownfield's daughter Ruth.
There are some really shocking moments in this book and some horrible violence but in places it's humourous and heart-warming. The language is harsh but the book is so beautifully written with such strong characters that you get carried along by the story without feeling that she's trying to shock. This is the first book I've read by Alice Walker, think I'll have to get a copy of The Color Purple!
November 3, 2007
This is the best Alice Walker fiction book I ever read. Yes, I have read The Color Purple. I have seen the movie, I have seen the musical. This book is better.
I read it a long time ago so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. I will say this. She goes into each character and makes you see them. She moves the story along nicely as well. I am person who loves details and writings like paintings and that is what this was.
I plan to re-read it in the near future.
I read it a long time ago so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. I will say this. She goes into each character and makes you see them. She moves the story along nicely as well. I am person who loves details and writings like paintings and that is what this was.
I plan to re-read it in the near future.
March 17, 2021
Con questo romanzo, l'autrice è stata una delle prime a denunciare il maltrattamento della popolazione nera in America. Un libro che esplora la situazione disperata di una famiglia nera nella Georgia rurale dei primi anni del 1900. Una scrittura vera, diretta e senza filtri difficile da dimenticare.
Recensione completa nel blog www.dallacartalloschermo.com
Recensione completa nel blog www.dallacartalloschermo.com
September 2, 2024
Indrukwekkende roman! Geschreven in 1966.
Ik lees in het nawoord van Alice Walker zelf uit 1987:
"Beatings, castrations, lynchings, arrests or imprisonments were daily events, as they are now in a similarly doomed racist society in South Africa. It is almost bitterly comic today, as we see our exploited, poisoned, depleted planet wobbling underneath our collective weight, to think that white supremacists have actually thought, and in places still think, that they can acquire peace and security for themselves in the world by dispossesing people of color."
Ik vervang in mijn hoofd 'South Africa' door 'Palestine' en de 'today' is zo hedendaags.
Ik lees in het nawoord van Alice Walker zelf uit 1987:
"Beatings, castrations, lynchings, arrests or imprisonments were daily events, as they are now in a similarly doomed racist society in South Africa. It is almost bitterly comic today, as we see our exploited, poisoned, depleted planet wobbling underneath our collective weight, to think that white supremacists have actually thought, and in places still think, that they can acquire peace and security for themselves in the world by dispossesing people of color."
Ik vervang in mijn hoofd 'South Africa' door 'Palestine' en de 'today' is zo hedendaags.
July 21, 2020
I found this book hard to begin with I’m going to be honest because I didn’t like the two main characters Grange and Brownfield. But I did start to really enjoy the second half of the book cause all of the characters evolved and it really started to come together nicely! Overall I’d really recommend, would be great as a book club novel has there’s loads of characters and themes to discuss. 4.5/5
April 18, 2021
Trigger warning: Extreme abuse and violence
I don’t know how I could have picked up two books in a row that detail dysfunctional families and abuse. This book was soooooooooooooo difficult to read, yet Walker’s shimmering prose carried me through. It was painful. It was brutal. It was haunting.
From racism to violence in black families, there’s nothing that Walker doesn’t leave uncovered. This is an important book. Just don’t think of having popcorn while reading it.
I don’t know how I could have picked up two books in a row that detail dysfunctional families and abuse. This book was soooooooooooooo difficult to read, yet Walker’s shimmering prose carried me through. It was painful. It was brutal. It was haunting.
From racism to violence in black families, there’s nothing that Walker doesn’t leave uncovered. This is an important book. Just don’t think of having popcorn while reading it.
June 1, 2020
Eu acho que não tenho palavras que estejam à altura do livro. Alice Walker é uma escritora fenomenal, e pensar que esse foi o primeiro livro que ela publicou??? Com uma história sobre família e ciclos, ela consegue abordar os mais variados temas, e de uma perspectiva realista única. Ela escancara tudo que nós não queremos ver, nos choca, nos traz a uma realidade que ela conhece, para depois nos deixar cheios de dúvidas e desespero. Foi uma surpresa muito boa chegar até esse livro, e sem dúvidas um dos melhores que eu li esse ano. Inclusive, foi até engraçado, porque o livro que eu li antes desse foi Girl, Woman, Other, e é possível traçar alguns paralelos entre as duas obras, e ver como a história de Walker ajuda a compreender a realidade.
June 3, 2023
The character depth in this novel is astounding. These are not characters whom we are comfortable getting close to but Walker is not interested in making us comfortable. The misogyny is raw and palpable. The reality of being poor and black in 1950s Georgia is unbearably bleak. It's horrifying to watch as so much hatred builds and builds....but I couldn't look away
4.5
4.5
November 10, 2023
Very beautiful book by the writer of The Color Purple; on black people coping life in USA after WWII. But also on life in general, violence, social violence, relationship father and son and much more....
“Teach them to hate!” he shouted up and down the Harlem streets, his eyes glazed with his new religion. “Teach them to hate, if you wants them to survive!”
“Love thy neighbor,” they whispered to him. “Do good to them that despitefully use you.”
“We have loved them,” Grange whispered back, his voice rising to compete with the melancholy notes of the church’s organ. “We loves ’em now. And by God it killing us! It already done killed you.”
He prayed for help, for a caring President, for a listening Jesus. He prayed for a decent job in Mem’s arms. But like all prayers sent up from there, it turned into another mouth to feed, another body to enslave to pay his debts. He felt himself destined to become no more than overseer, on the white man’s plantation, of his own children.
“That girl have to buy books that cost as much as a many of us pays for dresses!” Josie would smile proudly
And dancing taught Ruth she had a body. And she could see that her grandfather had one too and she could respect what he was able to do with it.
In the prison with Brownfield were murderers, pimps, car thieves, drunkards and innocents, and their sentences bore no set relation to their crimes. A young boy of seventeen was in for stealing hubcaps and his sentence was five years. A hatchet murderer whom Brownfield came to know quite well, who had dispatched not only his wife but his wife’s mother and aunt, was paroled after three years.
I figured he could blame a good part of his life on me; I didn’t offer him no directions and, he thought, no love. But when he became a man himself, with his own opportunity to righten the wrong I done him by being good to his own children, he had a chance to become a real man, a daddy in his own right. That was the time he should of just forgot about what I done to him—and to his ma.
“Teach them to hate!” he shouted up and down the Harlem streets, his eyes glazed with his new religion. “Teach them to hate, if you wants them to survive!”
“Love thy neighbor,” they whispered to him. “Do good to them that despitefully use you.”
“We have loved them,” Grange whispered back, his voice rising to compete with the melancholy notes of the church’s organ. “We loves ’em now. And by God it killing us! It already done killed you.”
He prayed for help, for a caring President, for a listening Jesus. He prayed for a decent job in Mem’s arms. But like all prayers sent up from there, it turned into another mouth to feed, another body to enslave to pay his debts. He felt himself destined to become no more than overseer, on the white man’s plantation, of his own children.
“That girl have to buy books that cost as much as a many of us pays for dresses!” Josie would smile proudly
And dancing taught Ruth she had a body. And she could see that her grandfather had one too and she could respect what he was able to do with it.
In the prison with Brownfield were murderers, pimps, car thieves, drunkards and innocents, and their sentences bore no set relation to their crimes. A young boy of seventeen was in for stealing hubcaps and his sentence was five years. A hatchet murderer whom Brownfield came to know quite well, who had dispatched not only his wife but his wife’s mother and aunt, was paroled after three years.
I figured he could blame a good part of his life on me; I didn’t offer him no directions and, he thought, no love. But when he became a man himself, with his own opportunity to righten the wrong I done him by being good to his own children, he had a chance to become a real man, a daddy in his own right. That was the time he should of just forgot about what I done to him—and to his ma.
May 10, 2021
Existem tantos motivos pra que esse livro seja lido. É tanta a necessidade que esse livro tenha sido escrito.
Eu morri por dentro com os episódios de racismo e de violência doméstica. Uma narrativa humana e marcante da violência, da opressão e, em meio a tudo isso, a esperança, a vontade e o crescimento de ser melhor.
Um livro super necessário. Acredito que o único defeito é a falta de um maior aprofundamento nas emoções e no psicológico dos personagens, mas fora isso é perfeitamente compreensível as motivações e as personalidades.
É um livro muito humano.
Recomendo muito a leitura
Eu morri por dentro com os episódios de racismo e de violência doméstica. Uma narrativa humana e marcante da violência, da opressão e, em meio a tudo isso, a esperança, a vontade e o crescimento de ser melhor.
Um livro super necessário. Acredito que o único defeito é a falta de um maior aprofundamento nas emoções e no psicológico dos personagens, mas fora isso é perfeitamente compreensível as motivações e as personalidades.
É um livro muito humano.
Recomendo muito a leitura
April 6, 2021
Recensione completa -> https://thebooksblender.altervista.or...
March 9, 2024
Apesar de muito famosa por A Cor Púrpura sinto que esse livro é ainda melhor!
July 23, 2020
Eu sempre falo que é importante saber separar a obra e os personagens da qualidade do livro. Tem gente que deixa de gostar de um livro porque o personagem era insuportável, quando na verdade, um personagem bem construído é exatamente o sintoma de uma literatura bem feita.
Essa é a primeira vez que essa separação ficou cinza pra mim. Eu achei o livro muito indigesto. As situações são tão incômodas que mesmo sendo uma linguagem bem direta você não consegue sentar e ler muitos capítulos de uma vez. Acho que esse é o material que me deu mais senso sobre a questão da segregação racial americana, ele faz você se sentir muito incomodado. Os fatos são bem contados, críveis, e no final dá uma sensação ótima ter se livrado de tanto peso.
Se eu acho importante conhecer essa história? Demais! Acho que desperta coisas profundas na gente.
Mas não daria de presente e nem leria de novo. Eu acho que a sensação mais próxima que tive dessa experiência foi ir a Auschwitz. Não indico pra ninguém porque tem o pior do ser humano ali.
Essa é a primeira vez que essa separação ficou cinza pra mim. Eu achei o livro muito indigesto. As situações são tão incômodas que mesmo sendo uma linguagem bem direta você não consegue sentar e ler muitos capítulos de uma vez. Acho que esse é o material que me deu mais senso sobre a questão da segregação racial americana, ele faz você se sentir muito incomodado. Os fatos são bem contados, críveis, e no final dá uma sensação ótima ter se livrado de tanto peso.
Se eu acho importante conhecer essa história? Demais! Acho que desperta coisas profundas na gente.
Mas não daria de presente e nem leria de novo. Eu acho que a sensação mais próxima que tive dessa experiência foi ir a Auschwitz. Não indico pra ninguém porque tem o pior do ser humano ali.
December 16, 2009
I read The Third Life of Grange Copeland years ago and its message still resonates today. A moving story that explains the origins and continued cycle of violence in the black family. If I remember correctly, it was three generations of an African American family in the “Jim Crow” south that are plagued by violence. Walker story traces the violence from the black man emaciated by racism while his wife is allowed to make a meager living. She essentially supports the family while her husband is not allowed to make a living which hinders his ability to be the man of his house. All of this breeds resentment and violence. Grange Copeland does not recognize this in the beginning. He watches and participates in the violence of his father, himself, and then his son. When he does recognize the pattern, he vows that the violence will end with his grandson as he takes responsibility for raising the youngster. This is definitely a good read.
June 15, 2019
Goodness, this was hard to read at times - the ways that Grange and Brownfield treat their wives and children. Alice Walker makes astute social commentary - showing how structural racism shapes people's lives. It broke my heart, rooting for Mem despite knowing what would happen. Rooting for Ruth - I loved the scene when she was finally able to stand up to her father - saying that she wasn't just an empty pitcher for other people to fill, that she had a mind of her own. Grange is one of the most interesting characters I've encountered. Back at the farm with his granddaughter - in his "third life" - he knows the violence of anti-blackness, and he also reckons with his own responsibilities for his actions. He's seen it all, but also recognizes in Ruth and in the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, a world he will never know. A great book - hard to read, sometimes; predictable at others; but great.
December 11, 2018
I've always considered "The Color Purple" as one of the best books I've ever read and so when I found this in a used book store I was anxious to read it. Both books cover similar topics, brutal racism and the humiliation and powerlessness to deal with it and the brutal treatment of black women often by black men. Both books are incredibly well written but are very different in their presentation. "The Color Purple" is much more subtle and is told through a series of letters written to God and to her sister by the main protagonist and because of the understated nature came across very powerfully. This book is brutal and explicit with no holds barred in the writing and is almost painful to read. This is Alice Walkers first book and shows her enormous talent.
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