5 Best Pulitzer Prize Winning Books

BEST OF THE BEST

Alice Walker

The Color Purple: A Novel

Iconic Story

A work of fiction that explores the lives of Black women in Georgia in the early years of the twentieth century.

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PROS

Though the location and the culture depicted are specific, the themes of this novel are universal.
Through the experiences of sisters Celie and Nettie readers learn about the challenges facing young women growing up in a violent, male-dominated, and racist environment.

CONS

Some reviewers preferred the movie to the book.

BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK

Toni Morrison

Beloved

Renowned Author

A bracing look at the realities of chattel slavery in America from an author who is also the recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature.

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PROS

Morrison took inspiration from an actual news story about a woman desperate to free her children from the curse of enslavement.
The book mixes harsh reality with ghosts and family mysteries to keep the reader eagerly turning pages.

CONS

Readers may find themselves haunted by the themes of the book.

Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys: A Novel

For History Buffs

Revisit a dark time in American history in this fictional novel of the Jim Crow-era South that looks at the experience of boys at a particularly sinister reform school.

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PROS

The novel follows Elwood Curtis as he tries to understand his childhood experiences at a school that abused children.
With the turbulent 1960’s as a backdrop, themes of racial discrimination and physical punishment are explored in detail.

CONS

Some readers struggle to follow the narrative to the end.

Richard Powers

The Overstory

Humanity in Nature

Our expert found this book’s depiction of the relationship between humans and trees to be moving and illuminating.

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PROS

The story is set in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
Trees function as living memorials to important events in characters’ lives in this book.
Trees also become the scenes of personal tragedies, the focus of life-long study, and in one instance, a Banyan tree saves a downed pilot.

CONS

The amount of scientific jargon makes this book difficult to read.

Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel

Customer Favorite

Dive into the harrowing history of the Second Word War in this novel that tells the story of how two children's lives are shaped by their environments.

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PROS

The narrative alternates between the viewpoints of young Marie-Clare and Werner as they attend school while the world around them burns.
The book is written with poetic flair and digs beneath simple representations of good and evil to reveal a more nuanced perspective.
Our expert recommends this book for fans of historical fiction.

CONS

A few readers dislike the author's many stylistic quirks.

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First Reviewed

May 06, 2023

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Best Pulitzer Prize Winning Books

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons