About the Book

In this “brilliant” (Essence) sequel to The Color Purple, Alice Walker weaves an intricate, rich tapestry of interrelated lives.

This edition includes a new Letter to the Reader by Alice Walker.

Celie and Shug from The Color Purple subtly shadow the lives of the dozens of astonishing characters in The Temple of My Familiar, all of whom are dealing in some way with the legacy of the African experience in America. From recent African immigrants to a woman who grew up in the mixed-race rainforest communities of South America to Celie’s own granddaughter living in modern-day San Francisco, they must come to terms with the brutal stories of their ancestors in order to confront their own troubled lives.

Described by the author as “a romance of the last 500,000 years,” The Temple of My Familiar creates a new mythology from old fables and history, and along with it a profoundly spiritual explanation for centuries of shared African American experience.

“The richness of [this] novel is amazing, overwhelming. A hundred themes and subjects spin through it, dozens of characters, a whirl of time and places. None is touched superficially: all the people are passionate actors and sufferers, and everything they talk about is urgent, a matter truly of life and death. They’re like Dostoyevsky’s characters, relentlessly raising the great moral questions and pushing one another towards self-knowledge, honesty, engagement.” —Ursula K. LeGuin

Critical Praise

“As a sequel to The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar is a major achievement.” — Chicago Tribune

“Walker holds a rare place in the history of African-American women writers . . . The Temple of My Familiar is brilliant.” — Essence

“Alice Walker has written beautifully about dreams, the power of stories—and about the remarkable strength of our own histories.” — Washington Post Book World

“Lush . . . Powerful . . . Ms. Walker has taken the character's lives . . . and woven them skillfully into a work of art as beautiful and unforgettable as one of her character's peacock capes.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“The Temple of My Familiar is a bold work by a writer of staggering talent.” — Newsday

“A rich tapestry of human emotion woven with poetry and passion . . . for the sheer beauty of the written word, this novel is superior.” — San Diego Union-Tribune

“Brilliant . . . Part novel, part visionary history, part revolutionary tract, this book will by turns delight, shock, frustrate, and inspire Walker's fans.” — USA Today

“Moving . . . a celebration of ordinary life and of everyday emotions.” — Los Angeles Times

“A mesmerizing tapestry of human experience and emotion . . . readers will cheer.” — San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

“Alice Walker is a lavishly gifted writer.” — New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780063346833
• ISBN 10: 0063346834
• Imprint: Amistad
• On Sale: 11/28/2023
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 1.120 in (d)
• Pages: 496
• List Price: $19.99
• BISAC1 : FICTION / Classics
• BISAC2 : FICTION / Literary
• BISAC3 : FICTION / African American / General
• BISAC4 : FICTION / Cultural Heritage
• BISAC5 : FICTION / Magical Realism