Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Underground Railroad

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Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

159 reviews

suryac's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Freedom was a community laboring for something lovely and rare.

Sometimes a useful delusion is better than a useless truth.

Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren't looking, alluring and ever out of reach.

4/5 ✨

This book's been sitting on my shelves for years and I always knew I would enjoy reading this book, but I never thought it would leave me shaken by it's searing portrayal of suffering of the enslaved people and resilience. As someone who wasn't aware of the term "Underground Railroad" before, I was captivated by the author's reimagining of it as a literal railroad that lies underground that transports runaway people from place to place under the safety of darkness. It was uncomfortable at times to read about the experiences of enslaved people and the punishments they endured under plantation owners. And also there were certain parts of book, where I struggled to understand the prose, due to the writing style, which I felt wasn't constant throughout the book. I don't know if it's just me, but the main characters were little flat to my liking

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luciavk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Good book with great characters (good and bad ones). Describes the horrid and almost unthinkable society of the time. Intense surrounding, but not too gruelling to read. I found it very fascinating too learn about the different states' approaches to the 'coloured question' after slavery was abolished.

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rileydobereading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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drossg's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

It is a hard read, but it’s a good read. It is fast-paced, and the structure helps divide things up. I like how the author did not try to sell the railroad, it is just a matter of fact. The book is fair and clear-eyed. The author’s style is criticized as overly “clinical” but I think it lends to what he’s doing here - he’s not sensationalizing chattel slavery or it’s effects. Just as the fact of the literal railroad he’s simply describing things as they are. I’ve heard of authors described as society’s physicians, and I could advocate a similar description for this book as well. It is difficult to rate “important” books, but it’s worth reading and I did enjoy it. So, 5 stars

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