A review by heyleigh05
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
 So I wanted to read The Underground Railroad in anticipation of Barry Jenkins’ TV adaptation. I like Barry Jenkins and his work is really beautiful, so I wanted to read the book to see what we were working with. I was bored. There were days when I just didn’t pick it up at all because I didn’t feel like reading it. This book was putting me in a slump and I was just ready to be done with it so I could start something else. I considered DNFing this book, but I don’t know, I guess I wanted to tough it out. I don’t think reading the novel before the show airs will be necessary because the book is dull, but I have faith that Barry Jenkins will bring life and energy to the story.

The Underground Railroad tells the story of Cora’s journey to freedom. She escapes from a Georgia plantation and has a tumultuous trek northwards while also trying to avoid the infamous slave catcher, Ridgeway. The organization of the novel is pretty straight forward. Each section is about Cora’s experiences in each state as she travels north. There are also character interludes in between these sections that give us a glimpse into the other characters’ lives. Some of these character interludes were interesting and added perspective to the story. Others I didn’t think were necessary. I also felt like the writing was kind of dry and it kind of lacked feeling. To give a comparison, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which also came out in 2016, is written with emotion and passion. Books like The Water Dancer (Ta-Nehisi Coates) and The Prophets (Robert Jones Jr.) have a lyrical, impassioned tone to them that makes both stories evocative and engaging. The Underground Railroad just felt kind of flat, I didn’t get any feeling from it and that might be part of the reason why I didn’t feel motivated to pick up the book. (Side note: If you haven’t read The Prophets please fix that because it's beautiful!!)

The lack of feeling in the writing was probably also why I didn’t feel connected to the characters. For some reason, I felt more empathy for the characters who died than the characters who were alive. I felt kind of sad for the Black characters who died because their deaths were so sudden and some we were only told about instead of shown, so their deaths felt kind of detached. I also felt like Colson Whitehead had a checklist of topics to cover regarding the ways that anti-black racism manifests. It felt like how many topics can I cover in this book from medical racism and unethical experimentation to the Great Migration. It didn’t feel organic. One thing that I did find interesting about the book was the underground railroad concept. Whitehead imagined a literal underground railroad that operates to transport slaves North as opposed to the euphemistic moniker. That aspect of the book was fun to read.

Someone I follow on Twitter, Jouelzy, said that she hated this book because it felt like it was written by a Black man with a white wife and now I understand what she means by that. I especially got this feeling with the way the novel navigated some issues. It was like someone just learned about Black history and wanted to include all these points in their book. Honestly, I can't believe that this book won the same award as Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing because those novels are beautifully written and this book is...*insert upside-down smiling emoji*. Anyways, this is the gist of my thoughts. I don’t think it's necessary to read the book before the series comes out. Just allow Barry Jenkins to take you on a journey and watch with fresh eyes. I know I will be blocking out all memory of this book so I can enjoy the viewing experience. 
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