A review by bookedupandbusy
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

4.0

SYNOPSIS: Dana Franklin, a young black woman living in the 70s is pulled into the past by Rufus Weylin. She is forced to learn to live as a slave.

I have had this book on my reading list for years. I wanted to read it purely because it is known as a classic and a few friends have recommended it to me and to be honest, I pushed it back every year because the ‘time travel’ aspect of the novel felt cheesy and I’m not into sci-fi/fantasy.
However after finishing this book, my focus was not so much on the time travelling, but more so on the events that took place when Dana became a slave, her challenges, privileges and interactions with people on the plantations was engrossing and the plot was fast paced.

Even though the book was written in 1979 It still reads as a book that could have been written today. This would have been a 5 star read for me but I did not find any of the characters memorable. I wanted to know more about Dana in both the present and past. She will not be a character that I remember, which is disappointing for a protagonist.