A review by chalkletters
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I absolutely understand why Kindred is classed as a fantasy book, and even why it's been chosen for my fantasy book club. It's about a character visiting another, unfamiliar world. It's just that the world in question is the antebellum American south, not an enchanted land. From a distance, I can see how those two are still fundamentally the same thing.

But I don't read fantasy because I want to explore our world. It's not that I need there to be dragons and wizards and magic. I've read a lot of fantasy that has none of the above! And I'm not, actually, saying that I didn't enjoy Kindred. It's just... not what I think of when I think of a fantasy novel. 

I thought Octavia Butler's writing was really effective. There were some lovely, subtle touches. I am, of course, predisposed to like any book that begins with characters unpacking boxes of books. But more substantially, I really enjoyed the way Octavia Butler ramped up the tension and atmosphere towards the climax.

My personal musings on genre aside, my own real criticism is that I felt as though we were promised more about how Kevin was marked by his time on the plantation than was actually delivered. Dana worried that it would mark him in some way, which added drama when
she had to leave him there
. But in the end, we weren't really given any insight into whether those worries were founded.

 Kindred  was still a satisfying read. It added context to other books I've read, especially Sugar Money by Jane Harris.
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