Evelyn C. White - Alice Walker: A Life

Firstly, this was a beautiful book,I could tell within the first couple of chapters that this was a work of love and that a lot of work and dedication went into this text. I will say next that I approached this book somewhat with a mixture of apprehension and overwhelming enthusiasm as I love and adore Alice Walker and was anxious to read "the biography." However, I knew, intrinsically, in my gut, that no one could quite completely capture the essence of this woman, this all possessing woman, within this book.

Alas, I must say, this book was beautiful, this book was surreal, and I am quite envious of Evelyn C. Wright as she must(as I can pick up very well from the book) have a personal relationship with Alice Walker. Alas, I don't see her opening her life up to anyone else. As such, this book does a wonderful job of breaking apart each of the pieces of Alice's life, interpreting them and presenting them to the reader thoroughly inspected and reviewed with Ms. Wright's analysis.

The book opens up by sharing the secret legacy behind Celie and Shug within the Color Purple and is immensely successful in building a chronological portrait of Alice Walker and contextualizing her history (herstory) and heritage by stopping to give little sociohistorical perspectives (one can tell that Ms. Wright must have a strong background in the humanities) and by providing literary analysis and period reviews of Walker's work.

Wright has an expert hand in tackling the controversies and delicate subjects surrounding Walker's life, including opening up on her bisexuality and her relationship with her daughter Rebecca (Black, Jewish, and White). As far as anyone could go in dealing with such a rich and bountiful life as Walker's, Evelyn C. White comes closest to (near) perfection. Thanks, Evelyn. All love to Alice Walker.