A review by mhinnen
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

I’ve read Octavia Butler’s dystopian “Parable” books and was drawn in by Kindred. Instead of future evil, Butler revisits historical evil. What if you had to go back in time as a Black woman and save a white master so that he can become your ancestor? This was disturbing and nuanced as Dana tries to navigate two worlds, surviving slavery herself, while resisting and helping others who are enslaved. It is a brutal and unsettling look at how the institution of slavery continues to ripple into the present.