Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Part love story, part fable, part feminist manifesto, part political statement, Walker's novel follows a cast of interrelated characters, most of them black. and each representing a differ ent ethnic strain that contributes to the black experience in America. Marred by didacticism, theorizing and pontificating, ``the book never achieves the narrative power of The Color Purple ,'' noted PW . (May)
Ursula K. Le Guin
The richness of Alice Walker's new novel is amazing, overwhelming. A hundred themes and subjects spin through it, dozens of characters, a whirl of time and places. Men are 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 toward self-knowledge, honesty, inducement.
-- The San Francisco Review of Books
From the Publisher
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
