Purple People has a really interesting premise and was a very fun read!

A near-future dystopian set in the U.K., at times it feels very close to something that may actually happen. Its such a multilayered book, exploring some really deep social issues while maintaining plenty of humour and satire. I particularly loved all the ‘British-isms’. There were maybe a few too many characters but overall they were well written and Eve was a strong protagonist.

I enjoyed this ‘light’ take on dystopia and would love to read more from this author!

Do you want to read a weird but interesting book? Well.. don't look any further!

Purple People is a debut novel that has a completely original plot with an interesting cast of intriguing and lifelike characters., Honestly, what a great, funny book with a serious current running through it.

Highly recommend you to read it. Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I can see lots of positive reviews, but I am feeling more neutral about the book.

I loved the premise, and really appreciated the messages about society, policing, crime etc. it was conveying. These aspects were right up my street, and a key reason I chose the book. However the writing style did not suit me at all. There were far too many words for my liking, and quite a lot of them I felt didn't add anything.

I see from other reviews people found it funny. Sadly I was not one of them, and may explain why there were so many words - there were funnies I didn't get.

So overall great story and idea, but the style of execution didn't suit me.

Thanks to Net Galley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting concept and definitely very well executed! The writing was amazing, and I found it hard to put down because I felt like I had to know what happened next!

I will definitely be picking up more books by Kate Bulpitt in the future!

Intelligent intriguing thought provoking.From the eye catching cover to the literary writing really entertaining read.Will be recommending #netgalley#unbound,

Intriguing book, Purple People had me glued to the page! Makes you think about behavior and judging people...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

The synopsis for this book sounded incredible so I wouldn't wait to read it. It's a really clever concept especially in light of the current situation with Brexit and prejudice based on what people look like. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the book - I found it really hard to get through. Interesting and fast-paced scenes were mixed with scenes that I didn't understand the purpose of - and included characters that I really didn't care about. The issue was that every time I picked the book back up, I'd forgotten who the characters were so it made it really slow going. It's a great idea though so I look forward to seeing what the author does in the future.

3.5 stars, rounding up.  The UK government is turning criminals who engage in anti-social behavior purple, and Eve Baxter, a journalist with a tabloid-like news agency in the States, returns to her hometown to figure out the how and why behind the purpling.      There was a lot I enjoyed about this book, from the wit, the satire, and the prose.  What brought it down for me (and this is all personal opinion and nothing to do with the author's writing) was the random focus on lost love opportunities.  It seemed like every time I came across a two page paragraph focusing on this, my mind would shut down and I would put the story away for several days.  Other than my own personal tics with the storyline, I thought this was well-written, entertaining, and great at social commentary without shoving it down the reader's throat.  Recommend.

How are people being purpled?’. Let’s rewind. Kate Bulpitt uses the concept that, in a near-future dystopian England, crims and the anti-social are dyed purple by the state to deter them from bad behaviour. It’s a light-hearted read that explores crime and punishment, relationships – both romantic and familial, the role of technology, and many other social issues that have gained contemporary resonance during crazy 2020, without damping down the fun element. There’s a big cast of memorable characters including our hero, journalist Eve, who displays a self-doubt that makes you warm to her..

It was the cover that caught my eye before I’d even read about what was on the inside, I’m a sucker for a nice bit of fingerprint art and I love those naughty criminals on the front of Purple People!

On the inside we meet Eve Baxter, a Brit abroad in the Big Apple, she’s living the dream working alongside her best friend at Say Fantastique an online news site specialising in the weird, wacky and wonderful. If your dog can skateboard she wants to know about it!

A rather unusual call from a friend back in England makes her aware of a most curious thing, people back home are turning purple and nobody knows why. It’s not a virus, nobody has been covered in nuclear waste, it is a total mystery.....

On the charm offensive, handsome PM Theo Fletcher takes to the podium to explain. The purple people are “bruises on society”, he has had enough with criminals making ordinary folk suffer, he wants them to be shamed, he wants them to be marked as social abominations and he has decided that if you commit a crime then you will be dyed purple!

Needless to say this goes down like a lead balloon, there is support of this unusual punishment, but there are also a lot of people who are appalled by this crazy step. Eve is mystified and starts looking in to it.

Not long after she finds herself back on home soil, her father has been involved in a bar brawl and ends up hospitalised, she’s astonished to find purple people popping up everywhere and ever the journalist she wants to find out how it is happening. People can’t just turn purple overnight except they are and in every hue of purple imaginable.

Ever the journalist she attends rallies, goes to political tv shows and interrogates science teachers to try and find out exactly how people are turning, none of the “victims” can remember getting an injection or taking a pill, it is a total mystery, one Eve wants to solve. She sets off to get to the bottom of this bonkers scheme to find out who is responsible and make them stop.

Purple People was a great read, I didn’t touch above on the country Eve comes back too, its almost stepped back in time, pubs are smoky, everything has gone retro and old fashioned, a backwards utopia maybe? In the end dyeing people purple does not a happy country maketh, purple people are set on upon left, right and centre, some of them have committed crimes so random as dropping a crisp packet. People are abusing them without knowing the full story, yes some of them are truly nasty pieces of work but some of them where simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is a unique satirical look at a country gone barmy and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know the author, the publisher and I had never heard of the book before, but I read the synopsis and I was sold. The government in Britain has a great new idea to tackle spiralling levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. The offenders will be dyed purple.

When investigative wacky news journalist Eve Baxter hears about this scheme she rushes back home to find out more about this plot. However much fun it sounds, it actually has a big impact on those tainted by it.

While the nation becomes more and more divided on the subject, Eve tries to uncover what it is that turns people purple in the first place.

The way the synopsis is written made it sound like a fun read, and fun it is! Bulpitt uses a slightly sarcastic tone throughout the novel, which makes for fun dialogues. I can't say I was completely at the edge of my seat to find out what happens to people and why, but it was a good read nevertheless.

I definitely hope that our governments don't use this kind of scheme to tackle anti-social behaviour because it sounds absolutely terrible :-) It's a great book by first time author Kate Bulpitt. I would recommend it if you enjoy a bit of British humour in your novels.

Many thanks to the publisher Unbound and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy.

Purple People is a dystopian novel set in the UK in the near future where people who have been caught committing a crime are turned purple as punishment.

I was really drawn to the description of this book. I was unsure how the novel would turn out, whether it would be serious or more of a light-hearted read. I was pleased to find satire and a hilarious cast of characters. I found myself giggling even though the narrative is a close parallel of current events here in the UK, although with a very dystopian spin on them. The book is set in the near future where a well-meaning Prime Minister launches a new initiative to tackle crime. Overnight people start turning purple… the problem is nobody really knows how…

Journalist Eve heads back to the UK from New York to investigate the purple people and just what is going on behind the scenes. The book follows her experience as she attempts to find out how people are caught committing crimes and just how their skin is turned purple. There are British idioms aplenty and some really well thought out characters who will seem familiar to UK readers.

Purple People is a great read for a bit of escapism and abstract social commentary. Very enjoyable!

Firstly, I thought this book was very unique- I loved the satire of it, the setting of a not to distant dystopian future that doesn’t seem to far away from our lives right now and the character of Eve, who is a likeable and relatable character. The nods to society right now we’re funny and clever. Yes there are an awful lot of characters in this book making it slightly difficult to remember who’s who in places but that doesn’t take anything away from this read- it’s worth the slight struggle.

A clever satire that can definitely link with issues in todays society. The humour is funny and en-pointe and I loved the reference to the 'Lavs' . Eve is a great character, the permanent un-achiever who realises that this is her moment, her chance to do something and to be someone. This is definitely a story to make you think.

I found the description intriguing and so as soon as I got this book I set all others aside to begin on it, but found it sadly didn't meet expectations. Perhaps this is my fault, but given the title I was expecting it to be of a similar vein to the Jasper Fforde books wherein they're set in our normal world, yet there's a lot not normal in it, making it sci fi but with semblances of normality in it. Sadly this wasn't the case with this book and to be honest I found it rather dull which is quite shocking given what it is about. It was an interesting premise the government turning people purple as punishment yet the book was so slow going, and introduced so many unnecessary characters doing boring things that I soon lost the will the carry on reading. I pushed on through it and sadly can't say it was worth it, rather I feel reading this book was a waste of my time as it didn't hold my interest and wasn't interesting. I wouldn't recommend unless you're wanting a book which will provoke debate in which case maybe it'd work for you

Purple People has such an intriguing premise. A fight against crime that takes on a literal approach when the criminals i.e. bruises on society get turned purple/aubergine/damson to match. It’s one of those thinkers/conversation starters, hugely divisive, distinctly British in this new world post Brexit order. Actually Brexit isn’t mentioned in the book, but it’s set in either parallel or not so distant at all future where some controversial measures to control society have already taken place and this is just the latest scheme of the charismatic well meaning PM. One of the preceding ones was banning smartphone like technology, which is hugely divisive in itself, though even the most devout phone junkies would probably be able to understand how that addiction affects the cohesive fabric of society, good manners, etc. But now, the purpleness must be a step too far. Or is it? The measure has a good amount of supporters to balance out the dissenting voices. But no matter what everyone thinks of it, everyone wants to know how the purpling occurs. It seems completely out of nowhere. Oftentimes before the crime has even been reported. A proper mystery indeed. One a bubbly reporter Eve until now specializing in silly light news for a NY publication becomes obsessed with upon returning to her native Britain to visit her family. It turns out to be a legitimately serious investigative work for Eve and a legitimate mystery thriller for the readers, right up until a fairly simple Gordian knot sort of a solution. But first, there will be misleading clues, confusion, much debating on the sociopolitical values of purpling, some romance, a family reckoning of sorts, and a good amount of political intrigue. So something for everyone. For me personally, the sociopolitical angle was the most interesting one. The merits of extreme measures to counteract the violence and their effects on society at large. In fact, one might even argue for purpling, until like all manmade measures, it spins right out of control and starts including such silly non offenses as littering and other perceived antisocial behaviours. And therein is the crux of the matter…the definition of justice isn’t the same for everyone and unless you got Judge Dredd available, citizen surveillance state can’t be made to extent to crime and punishment measures, certainly not in absolutes, not the way the PM’s plan is meant to work. So it’s morality tale, that sort of thing. One that would have been considerably more effective had it not been done in quite such a bubbly way, to match its lead, presumably. To be fair, the seemingly peculiar juxtaposition of such a serious scenario with such a romcom light tone actually did work. It made the book read like a quaint satire. Instead of a dark dystopian cautionary tale of the dangers of closely monitored society. But at any rate, this was a fun read. I did sort of predict one aspect of it, but not enough to counteract most plot twists and surprises. The writing was good, too bubbly at times for me, but good. Unbound press continues to put out really decent books, continuously surprising with the fact that significant numbers of people can actually make good smart choices. Why doesn’t political voting reflect this trend? But anyway, fun read, well worth checking out. Definitely a great discussion fodder. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

The premise of this book made me want to devour this immediately. The UK government turns people who’ve been caught committing crimes purple.

I was genuinely curious how this was going to play out politically and ethically. With this I think the author did a great job of showing realistically how people would react. It seemed very believable that this could actually happen.

My problem is that there were about 20 too many characters and the book was way too long. The sheer amount of characters combined with the length of this book seriously made it drag. It became a chore to continue reading it. The only reason I finished it was because I wanted to know how people were being turned purple. I wish I would have liked this more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book.

Outlandish, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Great cover. My only gripe was the abuse of my favourite colour!

It’s not often that I choose to read science fiction or dystopian novels, but when one comes along that sounds so outlandish and tongue in cheek, there’s no way I can resist!
To tackle anti-social behaviour and street violence in the UK, the Prime Minister has come up with a plan to colour offenders Purple in the hope of shaming them into staying indoors and away from the public. Eve Baxter has been thinking about a way to get into a more serious form of journalism than the happy news site she works for, and whilst she’s not sure how she feels about the ‘Turning’ of people, she does want to find out how it all works. When it hits even closer to home and her friends and family are affected, she knows she must get to the bottom of things.
Of course elements of this story are fairly farcical, but quite honestly with things the way they are politically, it wasn’t as far fetched as I might imagine! It was certainly the most original novel I’ve read this year, and Bulpitt is brilliantly funny - this was a real comic gem! I loved our heroine Eve, who wanted to do more in life, but like most of us, didn’t feel brave enough to - she felt very real and relatable.
This was a really unique, interesting and witty novel - no doubt Bulpitt will become a big name in literature soon enough!

They say there are no longer any original stories but I think this one is mighty unique! Satire, humour, and a touch of dystopian thriller make this a quick and engaging read.

A government developed system to diminish crime turns felons purple. In a time when we have so little trust in our government there are parallels in this story that ring too true. There are subtle lessons on classism and racism that we could all use right about now.

The characters are strong and heartfelt. Even those characters who you don’t like will make you shake your head while smiling.

I don’t want to say too much but I would suggest you give this book a read!

I’m really interested in what Kate Bulpitt comes up with next.