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the_castle_library's review against another edition
5.0
This is a historical fiction giving the Underground Railroad a literal meaning. It follows Cora and the allies/traitors she makes along the way through her journey to find a life of freedom, off the plantation and out of the South for a better, humane life.
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Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Gun violence and Excrement
kmcfall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Torture, and Rape
angorarabbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Rape, Slavery, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Abandonment, Confinement, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Genocide, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cursing
Forced sterilisation, eugenics, blackface performances, n word, medical experiments without consent. Body snatching, lynchingparenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Violence, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Torture, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Excrement, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Child abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Animal death, Medical content, Colonisation, Classism, and Child death
bigolscrewup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Sometimes a useful delusion is better than a useless truth.
Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren't looking, alluring and ever out of reach.
4/5 ✨
This book's been sitting on my shelves for years and I always knew I would enjoy reading this book, but I never thought it would leave me shaken by it's searing portrayal of suffering of the enslaved people and resilience. As someone who wasn't aware of the term "Underground Railroad" before, I was captivated by the author's reimagining of it as a literal railroad that lies underground that transports runaway people from place to place under the safety of darkness. It was uncomfortable at times to read about the experiences of enslaved people and the punishments they endured under plantation owners. And also there were certain parts of book, where I struggled to understand the prose, due to the writing style, which I felt wasn't constant throughout the book. I don't know if it's just me, but the main characters were little flat to my liking
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Rape, and Colonisation
dobilodeau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Torture
rlore96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Medical trauma
robvit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn't expect this to be a happy story. I didn't expect it to be positive, either, but I honestly did not expect it to be one of the more depressing books I've ever read. I struggled with it, as it took me 2 and a half months to finish. I could only read a few pages at a time before I put it down, not necessarily for its graphic and often upsetting nature, but just because it's basically one horrible thing after another happening to the main character, and it gets pretty hopeless after a while. I do not want to be ignorant to the horrors of slavery. It's a travesty amongst the worst the human race has ever conceived, and as a concept it is full of horrors I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine, and Colson Whitehead captures that essence well. It just doesn't make for a page turner, at least in my opinion, when every shred of hope this character has is immediately stamped out within a page or two.
I also had issues with the way the book would jump around. You'd read about a character, realize they're somehow important or you're supposed to be affected by what happens to them, and then their backstory is slightly explained after their fate is sealed. I didn't like the pacing because of that. I felt like there were too many characters that I could have cared more about if I'd known who they were before I found out what happened to them. It just seemed like an odd way to tell the story.
Overall, I think I'm glad I read it, as it opened my eyes more to the unbelievable injustice of slavery, but I would have a hard time recommending it to anyone without explaining everything I just said.
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death of parent, Trafficking, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Torture, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Death, Hate crime, and Sexual assault
emikateb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Stalking
cassielaj's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, Colonisation, Murder, and Kidnapping