A review by nytephoenyx
The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club) by Colson Whitehead

dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

 The Underground Railroad was a good story, but it's more than that. It's a good reminder. Colson Whitehead uses the narrative to talk about Cora's escape and journey on a literal underground railroad and reminds us of the many injustices against Black folks in historical America. He even pays tribute to the local Native American tribes and discusses land theft and murder.

The story itself was good - it lulled a bit in the middle from a narrative perspective, but that part was so important because it illustrated the persistence of hate. So while the middle exhibited less exciting storytelling, the pause left room for Colson Whitehead to share things like racial eugenics and the emergence of the Klu Klux Klan, which are important, horrifying aspects of our history.

Overall a very powerful book and highly recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Abandonment, and Body horror

Moderate: Medical content, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Excrement

There are many Black characters and multiracial characters. There are a couple Native American characters (tribes not always shared). The book discusses racial eugenics in detail. There is a character who wears human remains as jewelry.