Ratings295
Average rating4.1
The mark of a great book is one that makes you think and reflect on what you're reading, where you find new insights into your own world through that process. This was such a book!
I think I echo some of the other reviewers here in that whilst I did find the story interesting, I also found it quite cold and impersonal. It took me around a month to finish this and given it's only 360 pages, that is just not normal for me. I just wasn't driven to finish it and had no real urge to pick it up. I appreciated the imagery and message in the book, however the writing style wasn't engaging for me personally.
I've really enjoyed some of this author's other books, but this one was a little disappointing for me. It was a great concept, but the characters felt underdeveloped and emotionless, and the plot felt a little repetitive after a while. Whitehead wrote another great historical book (the references to the Tuskeegee syphilis study were a surprise for me and I appreciated that detail) but it just lacked emotion for me.
Sensational (and cruelly graphic) novel that's relevant today more than ever.
The story takes place during some of the most shameful years in American/world history.
A perfect narration through the consciousness of a salve, examining both hope and reality.
I liked:
- themes of civil right and freedom
- deep dive into the character's thoughts and feelings
- lack of character development (that's the whole point)
Didn't like:
- flow of events
- everything was very predictable
This book can easily pass on as a nonfiction
actually looking forward to discussing this with book club - if anyone else reads it
It is a hard read, but it's a good read. It is fast-paced, and the structure helps divide things up. I like how the author did not try to sell the railroad, it is just a matter of fact. The book is fair and clear-eyed. The author's style is criticized as overly “clinical” but I think it lends to what he's doing here - he's not sensationalizing chattel slavery or it's effects. Just as the fact of the literal railroad he's simply describing things as they are. I've heard of authors described as society's physicians, and I could advocate a similar description for this book as well. It is difficult to rate “important” books, but it's worth reading and I did enjoy it. So, 5 stars
Whitehead has achieved a remarkably readable alternate history of America's dark slavery period. Although the broad brushstrokes follow the familiar and despicable story, Whitehead's characters live in a slightly altered timeline that brings a remarkably literal interpretation of their escape to life. Without revealing Underground Railroad's secrets, it feels almost like a steampunk interpretation of running away, fleeing into alternately terrifying and paradise-like interpretations of real life.
The story of Cora and Caesar and Mabel and Royal is heartbreaking, not just for the regular shattering of their brief forays into hope but also for the incredible hatred that humans did (and still do) bring against each other. It's especially poignant to finish on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration, rife as his campaign was with vitriol toward an almost innumerable selection of his fellow men. His rallies became increasingly frenzied, thankfully stopping short of the pure violence of Underground Railroad's public hangings and lynch mobs. Still, though, over a hundred years has passed since Cora fled into the swamp and not nearly enough has changed.
3.5 stars–I hyped this book in my mind. And don't get me wrong. There is beautiful writing in this book. There are heartbreaking scenes. The best parts for me were not the actual story parts. Cora's tale is horrific. But the parts in which she makes observations about her life as a black woman, her experience, the parts that aren't strictly related to the plot–those are the gorgeous parts.
I have not quite gotten over Lovey either.
3.5 rounded to 4.
This was hard to read. There are no adequate words to describe the horror.
What bothered me was the writing style and the ending. It felt hollow but then maybe that was the point.
I had a hard time with the author jumping all over the place, past to present, present to past. I don't mind that kind of writing but the way this was written, there was no connection to the next scene, it just appeared.
One of those books about slavery and the treatment of Black people in America that is really hard to read, but worth reading.
I went into this not knowing that much about American history so I took everything at face value, not realising this was an alternate history / fictional version of America (in hindsight the underground railroad being a literal railroad is a bit too crazy to be true. Whoops!)
I thought it was uncharacteristic of Cora at the end to give up the location of the railroad, she was threatened with a gun but surely being shot by a gun would be a better fate than what was in store for her if she was tried for murder?
Originally posted at www.emgoto.com.
I enjoyed this book. It is not what I expected but I still loved it. I thought it would get more in-depth about the underground railroad itself. Still, the story was good and the characters were lovable or easy to hate lol. This book gives you hints about what slavery did to all people involved. It also touched on the effects that are still occurring today. This book is a must-read. I hope you enjoy it.
Historically inaccurate to the point of being irresponsible. Idon't care that it's a novel. It presents as historical fiction (even though it is only fiction) and people who may not be familiar with the underground railroad and that time period in US history will believe the things the author has made up. For instance, in the book the underground railroad was an actual railroad built underground by slaves (it wasn't) and there was a road called the Freedom Trail that was lined for miles with bodies of slaves and other African Americans who had been hung (there wasn't, though that seems to be some sort of disgusting dig at the Freedom Trail in Boston).
I wish I could at least have enjoyed the writing style, yet I found it to be as lazy as his research. His fondness for using gratuitous violence in place of meaningful action does not shock but bores the reader. While one is desperate to connect with the characters, they come across as one dimensional and boring caricatures of those expected in a book about slavery in the US.
Since it won the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, I began this book expecting and hoping to at least find it interesting and decently written. I have read better books from self-published authors on Kindle that I got for free. I cannot recommend this to anyone.
Excellent writing but it leaves me feeling hopeless. The story seemed to move from brutal realism to an almost fantastical ending.
Oh this was epic! I regret taking so long to pick it up, but as usual, the books I own get pushed aside by my library books and their infernal due dates.
I couldn't help but think Cora was like Odysseus and on an tragic trail of a story. Meeting unique characters, in alternate history settings, and conveyed all along by an actual railroad dug under the earth. This is the second novel I have read by Whitehead and now I'm determined to find another to read. A near perfect novel, and 5 stars for sure.