Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

79 reviews

bonniejpg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

lmsokol18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A dark but important book with an alternative history of the Underground Railroad. The book loses momentum at points, but I was rooting for Cora throughout. I would have loved more time spent on the railroad itself as well. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Racism, and Slavery

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow… this book is incredible. Devastating from the start and unrelenting in its harrowing depiction of Cora’s life of enslavement on a plantation and subsequent escape, The Underground Railroad manages to tell so many stories of America’s violent and insidious history while still including moments of perseverance, hope, and kindness. It’s a challenging, heart-breaking read, but the story is expertly crafted and thought-provoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, Colonisation, Murder, and Kidnapping

ltsang08's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A worthy read but I wouldn't say it was entertaining 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Slavery, and Murder

sellnow_hannah's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book is hard to rate. I think I was hoping for a little more magical realism given the reimagining of the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad, but that reimagining didn’t seem to add as much to the plot as I’d hoped. The story is a heart breaking and a brutal look at slavery and the many abuses Black people have endured in this country (taken with a grain of salt as it’s not 100% historically accurate). But the pacing of the novel was clunky and in each new setting there were many new named characters to keep track of with very little character development. Overall for me it was just ok. 

Satisfied the StoryGraph 2024 genre reading challenge prompt for a historical fiction set before 1900.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Murder

Moderate: Rape

jumbledjess's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

As you can imagine, when talking about enslaved people you have to show the injustices, brutality, and dehumanization that occurred to make this part of history possible. This book does exactly that and looks at America’s past with an unflinching gaze. While definitely not an easy read, it was hard to put this story down because I wanted to know what happened next (though there were moments when I had to stop because the violence was graphic). Definitely not for the faint of heart, but definitely a necessary narrative to have.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

catherinemb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault

01ivia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Body horror, Colonisation, Rape, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Slavery, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

marnash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Was highly anticipating this one. I loved the diverse cast of characters, getting to know each of them. It was a tough read, no doubt. I didn't love the writing style, sometimes seemed a little... amature. But the plot was gripping, ever-changing and twisting. It was a honest mix between hopeful and gut-wrenchingly sad, which is a good description of life and especially black lives in the slavery times, I guess.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Torture, Death, Murder, Slavery, Child death, and Racial slurs

tigerkind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

„A plantation was a plantation; one might think one’s misfortunes distinct, but the true horror lay in their universality.“

A capitivating read, especially interesting if you’re familiar with other (neo) slave narratives. Focusing purely on the reading experience I found the book a bit predictable and the style alienating from the character’s emotions and suffering - but I think it fits the narrative. The story is not indulgent in recounting the emotional and physical horrors of slavery (though they’re there, no doubt about it) but focuses more on perseverance and persistence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Confinement, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Classism, Death, Excrement, Hate crime, Misogyny, Trafficking, Genocide, and Violence