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A review by ms_gouldbourne
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I generally enjoyed Colson Whitehead's ethereal flight into magical realism with The Underground Railroad, a novel covering protagonist Cora's escape from a plantation in the 19th Century Southern states. In it, the network of safe houses and supporters that helped slaves escape during this period is reimagined as an actual train system that Cora uses to travel from state to state in her quest to free herself.
The Underground Railroad was a fascinating examination of this period of American history, and it is unflinching in its depiction of the cruelty and horror of the slave trade. I enjoyed Cora's voice as she travelled from state to state, and Whitehead's narrative was descriptive, intelligent, and easy to follow. At every stop along the way Cora is forced to face new challenges and difficulties, dogged by the almost obsessive slave catcher Ridgeway who tracks her down at every turn.
There was really only one major stumbling block for me, and that was the underground railroad itself. I just did not understand the point of turning a complex network of people who really existed into a literal railroad which did not, other than possibly to make it easier for Cora to travel great distances quickly. It felt lazy on the part of the author, and also somewhat disrespectful to the true history of the Underground Railroad. I'm aware it was used as a metaphor, but given the realism of the rest of the book, it felt blurry and indistinct, and I just didn't understand why Whitehead didn't represent the railroad as it actually existed. This choice also left me unclear about which parts of the book represented reality and which were fiction, and there was no helpful author's note to explain.
In the grand scheme of things, however, this wasn't a huge issue - I'm definitely glad I read The Underground Railroad simply for the insight and poignance it brought to an incredibly painful period in history, and I would look out for more by the author.
The Underground Railroad was a fascinating examination of this period of American history, and it is unflinching in its depiction of the cruelty and horror of the slave trade. I enjoyed Cora's voice as she travelled from state to state, and Whitehead's narrative was descriptive, intelligent, and easy to follow. At every stop along the way Cora is forced to face new challenges and difficulties, dogged by the almost obsessive slave catcher Ridgeway who tracks her down at every turn.
There was really only one major stumbling block for me, and that was the underground railroad itself. I just did not understand the point of turning a complex network of people who really existed into a literal railroad which did not, other than possibly to make it easier for Cora to travel great distances quickly. It felt lazy on the part of the author, and also somewhat disrespectful to the true history of the Underground Railroad. I'm aware it was used as a metaphor, but given the realism of the rest of the book, it felt blurry and indistinct, and I just didn't understand why Whitehead didn't represent the railroad as it actually existed. This choice also left me unclear about which parts of the book represented reality and which were fiction, and there was no helpful author's note to explain.
In the grand scheme of things, however, this wasn't a huge issue - I'm definitely glad I read The Underground Railroad simply for the insight and poignance it brought to an incredibly painful period in history, and I would look out for more by the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Death, Blood, and Torture