A review by a_rov
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

 Spoiler: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a decent book with a lot of important messages scattered throughout the historical landscape of mostly South States of the US. I would like to start with the praise of this book, since you can see the amount of work that went into it and how skillfully the surroundings are depicted, those of Georgia, Indiana, South/North Carolina and others. I don’t think that this book will suffice in terms of learning about slavery, classes, US history, etc.. But you can definitely use it as a good example of reflection upon the times which now seem so distant away. People with no names, countless deaths of people without names, past, present or future. 

The spirit of this book is desperation, you can see throughout the whole narrative. Now, looking back we can see the steady (not always) way of progress through the abolitionist movement and all it’s supporters. This, however, is the story from the other side of the coin, from the people to whom the progress is some shining end of the dark tunnel, just as the underground railroad takes you somewhere you cannot now, before you step in it. 

The ideas of freedom and hope for the future are reflected in a quote said by an agent: “If you want to see what this nation is all about, I always say, you have to ride the rails. Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America”. 

The historical accuracies and attention to detail in both surrounding environments and language have a downside of a very weak main storyline. To clarify the book has a main character arc and chapters devoted to specific people throughout the story. The funny thing is that for me personally, those small stories contained more value than the main storyline protagonist of the book. 

To sum up: I enjoyed reading this book to a certain extent, but it does not posses re-read value to me, thereby earing a 3/5 stars verdict.