From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead

Start date: February 1, 2017

Finish date: February 28, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: February Bonus Read- Black History Month
[close] February Bonus Read- Black History Month

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 73 topics — 889 comments total

Monthly Bonus Reads

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (February 2023)
By Mariah Roze · 2 posts · 18 views

last updated May 17, 2023 10:35AM

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide (March 2023)
By Mariah Roze · 2 posts · 11 views

last updated Mar 06, 2023 08:42AM

showing 5 of 5 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jan 31, 2017 Stacey rated it really liked it

I loved reading about the underground railroad as an escape from unspeakable living conditions and abuse of slaves. Cora is a great character and will stay with me.

10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2016 Chris Blocker rated it liked it

Shelves: booker

In many ways, The Underground Railroad is worth the hype. It is an intelligent novel based upon an exceptional idea. It's constructed with vivid scenes and formidable sentences. It is the kind of novel that can easily entice a reader.

At the same time, The Underground Railroad lacks in some areas that may alienate other readers. While the idea of using an actual underground railroad is promising, it does not add depth to the story. In fact, by deviating from historical events, The Underground Rai ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2016 ColumbusReads rated it liked it · review of another edition

2.75 stars

Not one of my favorite slave narratives and not one of my favorite Colson Whitehead novels either. I enjoyed it more than Sag Harbor but not as much as John Henry Days and certainly not as much as my absolute favorite by the author, The Intuitionist. The protagonist in that novel, Lila Mae Watson, was an indelible character with a commanding presence and strong voice. Something I thought Cora was lacking a little of in this novel.

Whitehead's writing is superb as usual and I liked the ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2016 Marilyn Diamond rated it it was amazing

Riveting, vibrant and real. Cora is the truth. As Harriet Tubman once said, I could have freed more slaves only if they knew they were prisoners and trapped. Strong, black woman who fought every step to freedom.

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2016 Melissa Rochelle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, read-2016

This book is brutal. And confusing. And good. I was expecting something totally different than what I got. I think I was expecting something more like Kindred as far as where the Underground Railroad took its passengers. Others have written far more succinct and telling reviews than I will, so I'll leave anything more about it to them. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2017 Nanette rated it really liked it

The main character, Cora, is presented with an emotional detachment I take to be a result of the fact that she had literally no one and nothing to give her heart to, and in addition to that, any positive emotions she dared to feel were driven out of her by force (her affection for Clarence, for example) until she was numb. The reader has to become numb also to a certain extent just to get through the book. I find that aspect of the book brilliant in hindsight but brutally hard to get through whe ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2017 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, novels, literary-fiction, cultural-african-american, adult, race, historical-fiction, historical

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is my first time reading this author. I was delighted when my library sent me the notification that my book on hold was ready to be borrowed. When I read the first few pages, I had to start over. The author's writing style was a bit choppy and rough. I was lost and didn't know what happened. Several times throughout this book, I came back to that same feeling of uncertainty, lost, and confused as to how I got "here" in the story.

This story is about a slave girl named Cora, who endured horr ...more

Like · see review