drossg 's review for:

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
5.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
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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