Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

81 reviews

stevie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

feodora_isabella's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I started reading this book because of the current protests against racism in the United States (June 2020) and think it is a must read. As I white person I fully support the Black Lives Matter movement and I want to educate myself about racism and white privilege. I chose the right book to start with, because it shows America's true face and can help us better understand both its past and present. The books tells the story of Cora, a slave girl who flees the cotton plantation she has lived on her whole life. She is hunted down by a slave catcher called Ridgeway. On the way, she travels far and meets many people. The Underground Railroad exists for real in this book, and serves as metaphor for the country itself.  'Every state is different," Lumbly was saying. "Each one a state of possibility, with its own customs and ways of doing things. Moving through them, you'll see the breadth of the country before you reach your final stop. (...) Following Lumbly's final instructions, Cora looked through the slats. There was only darkness, mile after mile.' I personally think this metaphor is intriguing and works very well. You almost forget this is a work of fiction, because it  could have been real. The railroad also has a mysterious element to it: nobody directly answers Cora when she asks who built it.  'All the railroad men, from Lumbly to Royal, countered with a variation of "Who do you think made it? Who makes everything?" She would get him to tell her one day, she decided.' The answer is, of course, the black people. The book is brutally honest, showing the horrors of slavery and the hardships faced by those born with a dark skin in America. Even when they had escaped their masters, they were (and are to this day) never free of the white people. It is heartbreaking to see that since those times so little has changed, that black people still have to deal with racism and discrimination in 2020, that they cannot feel safe. Please read this book. The subject matter is heavy, but so important.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Violence, Torture, Racism, Physical abuse, and Murder

elinordashwood's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

I wish the concept of the actual railroad had been better explored, but it was overall a well-written book that did not shy away from the horrors of slavery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

lena_and_her_books's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry

surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don’t even know how to review this, other than to say it is a tough compelling story told beautifully. And wow, I am years late to the game once again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence

leahsbooks's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I've really been trying to broaden my horizons with regard to what type of books I read. I knew it had won a Pulitzer Prize along with some other awards, and wanted to see what all the buzz was about. While I didn't really know what to expect, I did realize that this story wasn't going to be sunshine and rainbows.

The story is historical fiction with some elements of magical realism in that it reimagines the Underground Railroad as an actual subterranean railroad that was manned by a network of operators. The author has clearly done an immense amount of research to do justice to this story and this period of history. This isn't a story for the faint of heart, though. The experiences of slaves, and the punishments meted out to them are recounted in excruciating detail. 

However, there were some things that made it difficult for me to really get fully invested in this story beyond the shock and horror associated with the fact that this was an actual period in history. First of all, Cora was the only character that we got to know at any level, and it felt like even she was kept at a distance. I got to learn about her story, and a little about what makes her tick, but I never really felt like I was able to connect with her. The other characters just kind of felt like filler - they were dropped into the story when they were needed to move the story along, but we never learned much about them. Instead of having the chapters follow a logical, coherent path, they zigzag about. Interspersed between the chapters that tell the actual story are other chapters that give short snippets about what happens with other characters. But they are told out of sequence and jump back and forth in time, and they don't tell the whole story.

This story really had the potential to be amazing, but ultimately, it just didn't hit the mark for me. I couldn't connect with the story or the characters, and for me, that's what truly takes a story from okay to great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual assault

emmaslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Suicide

nora__reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An amazing slave narrative tracking one woman’s escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad.

Cora is a wonderful heroine and as an audience all you want is for her escape attempts to succeed. 

Colson also makes some very important points about slavery, race and the idea of America. A powerful book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, and Grief

caitlinrpowell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Rape, and Sexual violence

jenah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Death, and Child death