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blackjessamine's review against another edition
3.0
Non so, forse un romanzo del genere avrebbe meritato una lettura più attenta e sistematica, invece di un ascolto in audiobook mentre facevo tutt'altro.
Eppure, sono un po' delusa: a parte la tematica centrale del romanzo, che è, mi sembra pure inutile doverlo dire, fondamentale, imprescindibile, dolorosissima e tremendamente attuale, mi è parso che non ci fosse molto altro. Di certo non abbastanza da giustificare un Pulitzer, ecco.
Ammetto che, poi, la "trovata" che dà il titolo al romanzo non l'ho trovata poi così geniale: sarà che, forse per ignoranza, di una vera e propria ferrovia sotterranea per aiutare gli schiavi a fuggire avevo già sentito parlare nientemeno che in una puntata della Signora in Giallo, ma ecco, mi è parso un elemento buttato nel romanzo un po' così, con un valore che non è del tutto simbolico, non è del tutto concreto, non è del tutto problematizzato.
La scrittura non mi ha preso, i personaggi non mi sono sembrati granché analizzati, la narrazione l'ho trovata un po' farraginosa e poco stimolante... ma davvero basta scrivere di un grande tema per trovarsi tra le mani un grande romanzo?
Non so, mi cullo nel dubbio nella speranza che buona parte della colpa sia mia, che non ho dato al romanzo la giusta attenzione, ma ho il sinistro sospetto che, con una lettura tradizionale, avrei messo a fuoco ancor meglio debolezze e difetti.
Eppure, sono un po' delusa: a parte la tematica centrale del romanzo, che è, mi sembra pure inutile doverlo dire, fondamentale, imprescindibile, dolorosissima e tremendamente attuale, mi è parso che non ci fosse molto altro. Di certo non abbastanza da giustificare un Pulitzer, ecco.
Ammetto che, poi, la "trovata" che dà il titolo al romanzo non l'ho trovata poi così geniale: sarà che, forse per ignoranza, di una vera e propria ferrovia sotterranea per aiutare gli schiavi a fuggire avevo già sentito parlare nientemeno che in una puntata della Signora in Giallo, ma ecco, mi è parso un elemento buttato nel romanzo un po' così, con un valore che non è del tutto simbolico, non è del tutto concreto, non è del tutto problematizzato.
La scrittura non mi ha preso, i personaggi non mi sono sembrati granché analizzati, la narrazione l'ho trovata un po' farraginosa e poco stimolante... ma davvero basta scrivere di un grande tema per trovarsi tra le mani un grande romanzo?
Non so, mi cullo nel dubbio nella speranza che buona parte della colpa sia mia, che non ho dato al romanzo la giusta attenzione, ma ho il sinistro sospetto che, con una lettura tradizionale, avrei messo a fuoco ancor meglio debolezze e difetti.
abbyprinceatwood's review against another edition
4.0
Incredible story with complex characters. This book was difficult to read. The brutality of slavery, what some characters survived, how others perished, the timeline/place jumps ... all contribute to a great novel.
renbuhhannah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
sara_toone's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
5.0
Historical fiction that also plays with historical fact, turning the underground railroad into an actual railroad that runs underground, but never trivializing the brutalities of slavery or the need for this escape network. No matter how many stories you've read that have tackled the realities of slavery in the nineteenth century, you need to read this one-- the way that Whitehead recounts Cora's journey is heart-squeezing and beautiful. [a:Bahni Turpin|2177387|Bahni Turpin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1327006614p2/2177387.jpg]'s narration of the audio version is masterful.
bluehound's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked the characters, I couldn't relate to them or have any emotional connection to them. It's as if the author kept his distance from them. It's also a bit disjointed, in that a few extracts from other characters that added nothing to the book. It's disappointing because you want to feel for Cora but you don't really care what happens to her.
jmmerril's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
alwaysairie's review against another edition
3.0
The story was definitely a good one and even if I didn't get into the story very much before 1/3 of the book the majority of the book flew by quite quickly.
Will say though that I felt it is overrated, the story is an interesting one and you start to care for the characters very much (poor Lovey and Ceasar
Will say though that I felt it is overrated, the story is an interesting one and you start to care for the characters very much (poor Lovey and Ceasar
shimmery's review against another edition
5.0
Growing up on a cotton plantation in Georgia, Cora is a slave totally alone in a cruel world. Her mother notoriously ran away never to be found, abandoning her to grow up alone with only a small plot of land to remember her by. When Caesar gives her the chance to escape with him, she doesn't turn him down twice.
This book is remarkable and having read it I understand why it has picked up so many awards. Whitehead's pared-back writing style ensures all the violence is in no danger of being sensationalized in to something almost pornographic as is sometimes the case with books on this topic. The disgusting punishments the slave owners inflict could take over and be the thing that stayed with you most after the book, they're that horrific. That's been done before, and yet it isn't done here.
This book to me isn't about that. It's totally new in that it's about Cora, who I think is the best heroine I've come across in a long time. There's a scene near the start where she takes her hatchet and smashes apart the dog shed that has been built on her land; it left me absolutely gobsmacked. It's such a simple thing to do and a kind of violence that shows what she's capable of without her actually harming anyone. The owner of the dog shed is left knowing better than to mess with her, and I did too after that.
The railroad moving from metaphorical to physical takes the glory away from white people -- I think we're so used to reading slave stories where the heroes are the nice white people who rescue them. This book is great because it doesn't have that to detract from the struggle of the slaves. There was a line that made me laugh near the beginning where Cora senses that one of the station masters is about to give a long tale about how he got involved with the railroad so she switches off because she's not interested. That's what I find so great about her. She's totally uninterested in people trying to make her feel grateful or like she owes anything. Her freedom is a right, not a privilege, and she knows it. She is certainly prepared to fight for it.
There were a few little twists in the book that I won't include but that just showed what a deft writer the author is. It gave the story a resolution that worked really well without being a classic/unrealistic 'happy ending'.
This book is remarkable and having read it I understand why it has picked up so many awards. Whitehead's pared-back writing style ensures all the violence is in no danger of being sensationalized in to something almost pornographic as is sometimes the case with books on this topic. The disgusting punishments the slave owners inflict could take over and be the thing that stayed with you most after the book, they're that horrific. That's been done before, and yet it isn't done here.
This book to me isn't about that. It's totally new in that it's about Cora, who I think is the best heroine I've come across in a long time. There's a scene near the start where she takes her hatchet and smashes apart the dog shed that has been built on her land; it left me absolutely gobsmacked. It's such a simple thing to do and a kind of violence that shows what she's capable of without her actually harming anyone. The owner of the dog shed is left knowing better than to mess with her, and I did too after that.
The railroad moving from metaphorical to physical takes the glory away from white people -- I think we're so used to reading slave stories where the heroes are the nice white people who rescue them. This book is great because it doesn't have that to detract from the struggle of the slaves. There was a line that made me laugh near the beginning where Cora senses that one of the station masters is about to give a long tale about how he got involved with the railroad so she switches off because she's not interested. That's what I find so great about her. She's totally uninterested in people trying to make her feel grateful or like she owes anything. Her freedom is a right, not a privilege, and she knows it. She is certainly prepared to fight for it.
There were a few little twists in the book that I won't include but that just showed what a deft writer the author is. It gave the story a resolution that worked really well without being a classic/unrealistic 'happy ending'.