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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
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What Members Thought

Feb 12, 2017 Jeanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2017, historical-fiction, african-african-american

I read The Underground Railroad for several reasons, but partly because the high school I graduated from was planning to bring Colson Whitehead and Andrew Ayden in as speakers, causing a controversy that FOX News and Breitbart got involved in. (My school has decided to go ahead with Seminar Day.)

I'd feared Underground Railroad would be sort of silly – based on the descriptions of plot I'd heard – but it is thoughtful, engaging, and beautifully written, as makes sense given that it won a National I read The Underground Railroad for several reasons, but partly because the high school I graduated from was planning to bring Colson Whitehead and Andrew Ayden in as speakers, causing a controversy that FOX News and Breitbart got involved in. (My school has decided to go ahead with Seminar Day.)

I'd feared Underground Railroad would be sort of silly – based on the descriptions of plot I'd heard – but it is thoughtful, engaging, and beautifully written, as makes sense given that it won a National Book Award. It is also a disturbing book, as makes sense given the book's focus (slavery). I had difficulty putting it down.

Part of what I liked about Underground Railroad is Cora, the character from whose perspective the book is largely told. She tells her story in a somewhat understated manner, which one reviewer called "distancing." To me, her story is told as that of someone who recognizes the injustice of her experience – slavery is [only] a sin when whites were put to the yoke, but not the African. All men are created equal unless we decide you are not a man (p. 182). She is a character who grows, initially described as "mad" and housed in Hob with the other "strays" and rejects; nonetheless, she learns to read and makes wise observations about her world.

While this is a book about slavery and race, it is also a book about being seen, seeing oneself, and finding courage. Caesar asked her to run away with him because he recognized that he couldn't do it without her (p. 234). Unlike the other slaves on the Randall Plantation, he saw she knew the preciousness of what little she called her own. Her joys, her plot, that block of sugar maple she perched on like a vulture (p. 231).

In some ways, this book is a rewriting of Gulliver's Travels. Caesar described Gulliver as rov[ing] from peril to peril, each new island a new predicament to solve before he could return home. That was the man's trouble, not the savage and uncanny civilizations he encountered – he kept forgetting what he had (p. 237). That seems to be a good description of Cora's journey, too.

My least favorite parts of the book were those that felt most staged (e.g., South and North Carolina). In these sections, especially, the towns felt stilted and unreal. Throughout the book, however, characters in the foreground were well-characterized. Even Ridgeway, the slave catcher, was sometimes likable (or less unlikable). Whitehead also wrote short portraits of some of the other characters from their point of view as transitions between states, which allowed us to see them from other, fuller perspectives.

Although Underground Railroad often seems to paint whites as evil and blacks as good (and there are many despicable whites in this book), Whitehead complicates his story of race. Cora was rejected at the beginning by the other slaves, as her mother had run away. Some were as hard and unforgiving as many of the whites. On the other hand, Cora was transported from state to state, hidden, and supported at great personal cost by some whites. She came to respect them and what they risked for her.

Ultimately, while this is a beautiful book, it is a challenging one, as it eschews a simple story. For that I'm grateful. ...more

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Sep 13, 2017 Sakshi Kathuria rated it really liked it

This has left me a little broken and embarassed to know that humans are capable of insane cruelty upon another human and how injustice in the world spreads a little more with each act of human barbarism and savagery.

If you look up and hear about Whitehead's interviews, you shall know that his spoken word has truly reflected in his writing. I am glad that I read this book at ease and took my time to finish. The book narrates the story of the slave catcher, masters and slaves in the land of Uncle ...more

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Aug 24, 2017 Stephanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, audible

3.5 Stars

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Jul 21, 2018 Frank García rated it it was amazing

Definitely worth the hype. Never really could get into Colson Whitehead much, but this text blew me away. One of the best neo-slave narratives I’ve read.

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