Scan barcode
A review by snailslowreader
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Whitehead did his research with The Underground Railroad and crafted a book that shows the many horrors of slavery—for that alone, I would say it’s worth reading.
The critical weakness of the book was how I couldn’t connect to the characters. Whitehead’s literary and detached writing style worked well for his details (which seem all the more terrible the more casually they were described), but not so much for feeling what the characters felt. In addition, while the ideas and intentions behind all of the alternating perspectives are interesting, I found some of them to be too short (like the slave catcher Ridgeway’s perspective) or unnecessary (like stationmaster’s wife Ethel’s perspective, which could’ve been more captivating when shown through Cora’s point of view). The varying length and importance of the perspectives ended up making the book feel uneven, rather than creating a complex picture.
Whitehead is a talented and ambitious writer, and I look forward to reading more by him. It so happens that this book in particular, even with a great concept and solid plot, didn’t quite do it for me.
The critical weakness of the book was how I couldn’t connect to the characters. Whitehead’s literary and detached writing style worked well for his details (which seem all the more terrible the more casually they were described), but not so much for feeling what the characters felt. In addition, while the ideas and intentions behind all of the alternating perspectives are interesting, I found some of them to be too short (like the slave catcher Ridgeway’s perspective) or unnecessary (like stationmaster’s wife Ethel’s perspective, which could’ve been more captivating when shown through Cora’s point of view). The varying length and importance of the perspectives ended up making the book feel uneven, rather than creating a complex picture.
Whitehead is a talented and ambitious writer, and I look forward to reading more by him. It so happens that this book in particular, even with a great concept and solid plot, didn’t quite do it for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault