Reviews

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

mitskacir's review against another edition

4.0

This book took me a bit to get into, but once I did it really hooked me. The story was exciting, revealing just enough information to be suspenseful but not confusing or tedious. However, besides the excellent story telling and writing, I'm not sure how this book stands out form other books about slavery besides the "the underground railroad is really a railroad" gimmick. I'm not sure how much it really added to the book, or what the significance was. The literal railroad does add a tall-tale vibe to the story, which didn't necessarily play out in any other part of the book. Perhaps Whitehead is commenting that the experiences of enslaved people were so extreme that it is hard to believe that they were real and not the work of fiction? That, by juxtaposing the hardships of slavery and escape with the fantasy of a literal underground railroad, the horrors of the time are placed more firmly in reality in the minds of the reader?

rebeccaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

ashleync7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

agsztyl's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

mostrengo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

karaloyd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.75

yellowchevron's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

elaineh7's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

The first half of this book was pretty good, but the second half took me twice as long to get through because it dragged. I also felt like sometimes we would get random pov chapters that weren’t that relevant, like the doctors chapter

lmwanak's review against another edition

Libby took it back because I was reading too slow. I'll put it back on the tbr list.

annabelmcdonald251's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5