Reviews

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

holliewong's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad 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

4.0

jesse5's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

nujibuji's review against another edition

2.0

I really wanted to love this book because of the subject matter and the raving reviews, but something fell short for me. There is no doubt the stories in this book needs to be told over and over again, especially in the climate we're living in today, but the author's writing style may not be right for me. I felt too much distance to the protagonist. It was written in third person, which allowed for the author to explore other characters' perspectives and build in social commentary but did not allow for me to connect with any one character. The structure of the story was fragmented and so was the timeline, which left me confused at times and lent to the disconnection. The author tried to address too many aspects of slavery and its affects on the people, making it more like a tour rather than in-depth exploration of any one area. The voice of the characters and attitudes expressed felt too modern, like something people would say in hindsight (which is exactly what the author has at his disposal to write this story). Perhaps that is what makes this work unique and innovative and lauded so highly, but it lacked the emotional connection I was hoping to make with the characters and their journeys.

Can I also add that I was pulled into this book by the title and the blurb, thinking this book would completely revolve around this literal underground railroad - which sounded like a unique take on a popular subject matter, but that ended up just being a small part of the bigger story.

laura_atthe_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative 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

5.0

alreadyemily's review against another edition

4.0

The twists were good. The interweaving of what really happened in different places and times, and what is magical realism.

katiescho741's review against another edition

2.0

My edition's cover is crowded with positive soundbites from famous people like Oprah, and there's a huge star saying that this book won the Pulitzer prize.
But I just found it a bit "meh". It was okay. The story of Cora was readable but I didn't really enjoy it and I didn't connect with anyone in the book. the only reason I finished it in a few days was because I wanted to start reading something else.
The writing is very on-the-surface, and it reads a bit like an overview of a bigger story. The only chapters where I connected with characters were the ones with names as the titles; these ones gave small snapshots into different character's histories and psyches. the one about Ethel was probably the best.
Other than that, pretty disappointing.

ellysreads's review against another edition

2.0

I read this after loads of recommendations so had quite high hopes for the book and that I’d like it. I really loved the concept- the Underground Railroad is a real railroad- but I just did not warm to the writing at all. I found the narrative quite distancing and it made me feel like it was more of a history lesson told through a story than a story containing vital bits of history. A lot of people who like it also enjoy ‘Homegoing’ and say they’re quite similar- I really loved Homegoing so if you’ve read neither I’d personally go with that.

kelskels19's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.75

kdat's review against another edition

4.0

This one got off to a slow start for me. It picked up toward the end and became a “can’t put down till I’m done”. The writing is lovely with some real gems. I really felt like a knew the characters and I cared about them. He also did a great job of articulating the long term mental effects of slavery.

dantheman83's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense fast-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