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elliejean28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
daniellebird's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? No
3.25
mavemarie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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? No
4.5
theadequategatsby's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
onthedig's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book was fantastic. The prose was rich and thoughtful. The mental images I got during this book hit me in my soul. I see the world differently now. It's one thing to learn about the UGRR in history class but this book really connected me emotionally to the history. I fully understand why this book won a Pulitzer Prize and why it recieved as much acclaim as it did when it was released. I have been changed by this book and I can tell it will be one I think about for the rest of life. Truly excellent.
jfaberrit's review against another edition
5.0
There were some great books written in the past year (I was partial to Moonglow by Michael Chabon), but this was the best book of 2016, hands down, by some margin. There might be a clever little novel out there that takes the idea of the underground railroad made into literal railroad and runs with it; this book is so much more by taking it as simply a conceit. Instead, we get the entire history of race in America (and elsewhere in the world), told symbolically as the stages of a journey, moving in fits and starts toward freedom and toward modernity, but never unaware of the continuing struggle for equality and justice that marks the present day. I never realized until I read this that "the State of North Carolina" could be a mental state as well as one of the constituent parts of the union. Whitehead manages to find universality in control, domination, terror, and struggles through anachronisms, anecdotes, and more, all while threading a plot with rich characters and momentum. It's masterful, the most moving novel of the year, storytelling and structure wrapped in one.
kmcfall's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Torture, and Rape
alogalbo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5