Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

75 reviews

stellamcvey's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Never has so much happened in a book and I’ve felt no big reaction. I guess the issue for me is that it was so intensely episodic that it was really difficult to get attached to any of the side characters, so when they died I didn’t really care. As an exploration of the horrors of slavery it was extremely effective however and that was when the emotional stuff hit hard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, Murder, Death, Torture, Blood, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Gore, and Confinement

ms_gouldbourne's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-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? No

3.75

I generally enjoyed Colson Whitehead's ethereal flight into magical realism with The Underground Railroad, a novel covering protagonist Cora's escape from a plantation in the 19th Century Southern states. In it, the network of safe houses and supporters that helped slaves escape during this period is reimagined as an actual train system that Cora uses to travel from state to state in her quest to free herself.

The Underground Railroad was a fascinating examination of this period of American history, and it is unflinching in its depiction of the cruelty and horror of the slave trade. I enjoyed Cora's voice as she travelled from state to state, and Whitehead's narrative was descriptive, intelligent, and easy to follow. At every stop along the way Cora is forced to face new challenges and difficulties, dogged by the almost obsessive slave catcher Ridgeway who tracks her down at every turn.

There was really only one major stumbling block for me, and that was the underground railroad itself. I just did not understand the point of turning a complex network of people who really existed into a literal railroad which did not, other than possibly to make it easier for Cora to travel great distances quickly. It felt lazy on the part of the author, and also somewhat disrespectful to the true history of the Underground Railroad. I'm aware it was used as a metaphor, but given the realism of the rest of the book, it felt blurry and indistinct, and I just didn't understand why Whitehead didn't represent the railroad as it actually existed. This choice also left me unclear about which parts of the book represented reality and which were fiction, and there was no helpful author's note to explain. 

In the grand scheme of things, however, this wasn't a huge issue - I'm definitely glad I read The Underground Railroad simply for the insight and poignance it brought to an incredibly painful period in history, and I would look out for more by the author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Death, Blood, and Torture

fairytamer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Physical abuse, and Child death

lucinotlucy's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Trafficking, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Confinement, Genocide, Torture, Child abuse, Slavery, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Grief

kristensandiego's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Body horror, Death, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Murder, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, and Child death

Moderate: Grief, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

A hard, but inspirational read. The horrors, moments of hope, consyant fear and very real danger are evident throughoyt. Our ptotagonists physical and mental strength to endure and live is astounding. The truth and reality of her story is what hurts the most refected across this time for so many. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Racism, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Medical trauma, Grief, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abandonment, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Police brutality, Rape, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Medical content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Trafficking

This book in some ways is a greatest hits of 19th century racism so it includes eugenics, forced sterilization, genocide, weekly lynchings, it doesn't revel in any of these things but know going in that reading this book will involve acknowledging these happened and some reckoning with who perpetrated these atrocities against whom. Oh also, warning for repeated use of racial slurs, including the n-word, by characters.

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I picked this book up after attending a virtual presentation by the author. Ran out and bought it that day. I was so excited  I also thought Nickel Boys was well done, but this book felt all over the place. He described it as each state being a different version of America, but many were indistinguishable (which I am sure is the point), but it was also all over the place plot wise and the main character had very little personality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Rape and Racial slurs

hunkydory's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

sprucy2427's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Confinement, Child death, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicide