A review by feodora_isabella
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I started reading this book because of the current protests against racism in the United States (June 2020) and think it is a must read. As I white person I fully support the Black Lives Matter movement and I want to educate myself about racism and white privilege. I chose the right book to start with, because it shows America's true face and can help us better understand both its past and present. The books tells the story of Cora, a slave girl who flees the cotton plantation she has lived on her whole life. She is hunted down by a slave catcher called Ridgeway. On the way, she travels far and meets many people. The Underground Railroad exists for real in this book, and serves as metaphor for the country itself.  'Every state is different," Lumbly was saying. "Each one a state of possibility, with its own customs and ways of doing things. Moving through them, you'll see the breadth of the country before you reach your final stop. (...) Following Lumbly's final instructions, Cora looked through the slats. There was only darkness, mile after mile.' I personally think this metaphor is intriguing and works very well. You almost forget this is a work of fiction, because it  could have been real. The railroad also has a mysterious element to it: nobody directly answers Cora when she asks who built it.  'All the railroad men, from Lumbly to Royal, countered with a variation of "Who do you think made it? Who makes everything?" She would get him to tell her one day, she decided.' The answer is, of course, the black people. The book is brutally honest, showing the horrors of slavery and the hardships faced by those born with a dark skin in America. Even when they had escaped their masters, they were (and are to this day) never free of the white people. It is heartbreaking to see that since those times so little has changed, that black people still have to deal with racism and discrimination in 2020, that they cannot feel safe. Please read this book. The subject matter is heavy, but so important.
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