Review by moonbasket - The Underground Railroad

moonbasket 's review for:

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit too slow for my taste, especially at the end. Also, I feel like Whitehead could benefit from learning more from indigenous voices. There were some truisms touted by Cora that are patently false to anyone with knowledge of the impact of indigenous people and their removal on the ecology of North America. They had a huge impact on their environment and removing them caused so many, many problems.
I enjoyed his prose and description. I also really liked the subtle magical realism. I think Whitehead also walked the line between emotional vulnerability and trauma porn very well. As a reader it was easy to empathize with Cora, but, it still felt like she had her own secrets and was keeping her cards close to her chest. It never felt voyueristic even though Cora went through so much violence.
I would recommend the book, but check the content warnings for your safety.

Content Warnings