Reviews with content warning for Rape - Kindred

Wow this was incredible! I’ve been meaning to get into Butler’s work for a while, and I’m glad I started here. So well-written and an unflinching, honest, and brutal look at slavery and racism and its lasting effects on everyone involved. I just wish there had been an explanation on how and why Dana was traveling through time, but I get that’s probably part of the speculative fiction that leaves it open-ended.

Content Warnings

alrauna's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

hinoki's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I knew of this book, but never felt the need to pick it up because the premise seemed too... basic. It just felt to obvious to have a Black person time travel to a time when being Black was the worst.
Then I saw that there was an adaptation of the series on Hulu. I decided to give it a try because, why now? I could always turn it off. I ended up really liking it and it ended on a cliff hanger, so I knew I would have to pick up the book.
It turns out that the book is really different, but I still really enjoyed it.

The most shocking difference is the plot line with Dana's mom. That's just not in the book at all and I wonder why they added it to the show.

My favorite aspect of the book is Dana. I think Dana is such an interesting character, I haven't read may books with a protagonist like her. She is very confident/self-assured, but not in a "badass" kind of way. Like she's no Katniss but she still holds her own. There's something mature about her that many protags are missing.
One thing I liked about the show, that I think enhances the book is child Rufus. The actor who plays him needs an Emmy because he's so cute even when he's annoying. I kept this image in my mind so when

Rufus gets older and much worse it's honestly heart breaking to see how he's changed.

Although I did like this book, I do have to subtract one star because of the book's attitude towards

sexual assault. When Rufus assaults Alice I was confused as to whether it had actually happened or not because Dana seemed so unconcerned. I also didn't understand her treatment of Rufus after all the horrible things he did, especially at the end. I guess you could say it was some sort of commentary on the Stockholm syndrome effect of slavery, but also I tried to read Wild Seed and it really makes we question the author's intent.

Content Warnings

sabripolin's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Totally transported (pun not intended…) by the vivid imagery of Dana’s experience in two time periods, but mostly by the complex, conflicting emotions and ethical dilemmas she encounters and how to manage situations in a period-appropriate manner.

Minus points (?) for all characters’ lack of FREAKING OUT and Dana’s seemingly emotionless disposition all throughout. We also don’t really get a “why” to why this all happened or what triggered her first transportation.

Content Warnings

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was so interesting and horrific at the same time. I took off half a star because the complexities of slavery and how easy it *seemed* to be to adapt to horrible circumstances were a little too pointed in the first half, but the second half weaved this in very well. I listened to this and was audibly gasping left and right because I was so invested and heartbroken. Can’t believe I didn’t have to read this in school and hope that this can be required reading one day for everyone, especially white Americans.

Content Warnings

maddyreads89's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Octavia butler sure knows how to write emotionally brutal books

Content Warnings

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Butler is an incredible writer. I loved getting a time-travel novel in which the main character is a black woman. As you can imagine, this book gets really dark, but even as someone who has a hard time with certain types of dark books, this was fine. Not a bad idea to check content warnings, but nothing felt gratuitous.

Content Warnings

alpaca_in_space's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is an example of what makes Octavia Butler a great author. While it has darker themes, they don't feel added for the sake of shock value - instead they were clearly added to ensure the story was handling the implications of its premise. It is an incredible work of literature inviting readers into one of the darkest parts of the United States's past and to think about what lasting impacts it had into today.

Content Warnings

More...