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elaineh7's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The first half of this book was pretty good, but the second half took me twice as long to get through because it dragged. I also felt like sometimes we would get random pov chapters that weren’t that relevant, like the doctors chapter
lmwanak's review against another edition
Libby took it back because I was reading too slow. I'll put it back on the tbr list.
annabelmcdonald251's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
katiegilley's review against another edition
5.0
Cora is enslaved in Georgia and is approached by a man who asks her to escape with him. While her first instinct was one of fear and incredulity, she eventually agrees to do so after a particularly heinous incident. We follow Cora and her journey on the Underground Railroad, which is an actual railroad that runs between stops that are all underground.
Cora’s escape takes us many places throughout the south and we meet many brave people who risk their lives to help those that make the dangerous choice of searching for freedom. This book is incredibly suspenseful and it felt like Cora was suddenly ripped from safety so many times. A major appeal of this book is its suspense, so I won’t go into any of the details of her journey, but it is heart wrenching and terrifying.
If you're interested in reading my rambling review with many political opinions, it can be found here.
Cora’s escape takes us many places throughout the south and we meet many brave people who risk their lives to help those that make the dangerous choice of searching for freedom. This book is incredibly suspenseful and it felt like Cora was suddenly ripped from safety so many times. A major appeal of this book is its suspense, so I won’t go into any of the details of her journey, but it is heart wrenching and terrifying.
If you're interested in reading my rambling review with many political opinions, it can be found here.
kntaylor1216's review against another edition
4.0
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by a literal Underground Railroad, when the back tells you there is one. But suspending reality long enough to imagine a train running underground with no light, no way for smoke to escape, and no clear cut way of knowing how the operators manage to run back and forth between stops? It was a little grandiose.
I liked the idea of the book, and maybe naively wanted a happier ending for Cora than she got. Though, I suppose freedom is the greatest happy ending for her?
I did not like Whiteheads way of interjecting character background/morality reasoning into actionable chapters. It felt disconnected from the plot in a self serving way. I think he could’ve told the same stories and relayed the same information in a way that better flows. Additionally, the graphic violence of the physical beatings Cora and her fellow slaves endured is hard, as it should be. It gives heft and tension to the underlying plot. Will she return? What will happen to her? I didn’t think Whitehead gave appropriate weight to the sexual violence Cora and the other women were subjected to.
I wanted more. More character development. More insights. More. I enjoyed it as a book, but as a great, long standing story? I don’t think it will stand that test.
I liked the idea of the book, and maybe naively wanted a happier ending for Cora than she got. Though, I suppose freedom is the greatest happy ending for her?
I did not like Whiteheads way of interjecting character background/morality reasoning into actionable chapters. It felt disconnected from the plot in a self serving way. I think he could’ve told the same stories and relayed the same information in a way that better flows. Additionally, the graphic violence of the physical beatings Cora and her fellow slaves endured is hard, as it should be. It gives heft and tension to the underlying plot. Will she return? What will happen to her? I didn’t think Whitehead gave appropriate weight to the sexual violence Cora and the other women were subjected to.
I wanted more. More character development. More insights. More. I enjoyed it as a book, but as a great, long standing story? I don’t think it will stand that test.
zachnachazel's review against another edition
5.0
Likely one of the best novels I’ll read all year. Colson writes from a perspective of hope and hopelessness all rolled into one. I just couldn’t set this down not knowing what happens to Cora but also engulfed in the horrors of a past that impact our world today.
hlflosser's review against another edition
4.0
The author has a beautiful way of writing thoughts. Although this story is sad an thought provoking of our history it was a great story.