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The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead

Start date: February 1, 2017

Finish date: February 28, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

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What Members Thought

Nov 01, 2016 Matthew rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: least-favorite, 2017, audio, gr_awards_2016, historical-fiction, library

Every year, I have either never heard of the films nominated for the Best Picture Academy award or when I see them, I don’t think the movie is all that great; long drawn out scenes with landscapes, close ups of glowering faces, monotonous dialogue, etc. I know that every movie doesn’t have to be action packed, but forced artsy-ness or movies nominated for content but not quality are frustrating.

The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize this year. I have read other Pulitzer Prize winners an Every year, I have either never heard of the films nominated for the Best Picture Academy award or when I see them, I don’t think the movie is all that great; long drawn out scenes with landscapes, close ups of glowering faces, monotonous dialogue, etc. I know that every movie doesn’t have to be action packed, but forced artsy-ness or movies nominated for content but not quality are frustrating.

The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize this year. I have read other Pulitzer Prize winners and generally I have found them to be just okay. Or, in looking through the list of winners, I have not even heard of them at all. Because of this, Pulitzer Prize and Best Picture Awards are very similar to me. I really am not sure what the ultimate criteria ends up being, but apparently it is not criteria that I would use.

Disclaimer – as you can probably tell already, I did not like this book. That does not mean that I wish to convince you that you should not like it or not read it. It does not mean that if you gave it 5 stars I want to fight about it. All it means is that this book just did not work for me and I cannot tell why it was so great. We can discuss our differences in opinion, but there will be no need to argue!

I am stuck between 1 and 2 stars on this book. If there was a half star option, I would move forward with a 1.5 star rating. By the time I am done typing this review, maybe I will be able to settle on which one I will go with.

I listened to the audiobook. I always have an audiobook going on and this is the first time in a long time that I can remember fighting to maintain interest and pay attention to the story (in fact, I think the last time that happened was with All the Light We Cannot See – another Pulitzer Prize winner). With this being the case, at least one star from 5 has to be removed.

The characters and the story for me were just blah. I have read other stories and books with difficult subject matter about people being oppressed. In those books the characters were charismatic and impassioned. You felt for the characters and their plight. The story is enthralling and you care about what happens and the ultimate outcome of the story. (Some examples of this are The Help, Between Shades of Gray, The Power of One, etc.). With The Underground Railroad the story was fairly flat for me and the characters kind of uninteresting – reading about what they were going through was more like a bland history book than a story meant to entertain and draw emotion. Considering the subject matter, this was rather unfortunate to me. Also, there was lots of time jumping so I was frequently confused about what was happening, to whom, and in what time frame - this probably led to the fight to stay interested. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 3.

The book is called The Underground Railroad. I thought that this was going to be about The Underground Railroad. Instead, the railroad is just a bit part in the main story (view spoiler). I know that an author can name a book anything they want, but this name seemed to point toward a very specific plot point that ended up being minor throughout – and that felt weird to me. The best analogy I can think of is if all the Harry Potter books had his name replaced with “Hogsmeade” in all the titles. While Hogsmeade is a place they go in every book, and sometimes important things happen there, it is hardly the most important location in the book, so why would you put it in the title? With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 2.

(Side note on the "Railroad" itself. Seemed like a bit of Magical-Realism that to me felt forced and out of line with the rest of the book. For me, the author was trying too hard for the literal metaphor.)

I know it probably seems like I am being harsh on this book, but it won awards! It was Oprah’s Book Club pick! The subject matter is in a genre that I have read other captivating books from and was led to believe this one would be right up there with them. My Goodreads friends have consistently been giving it high marks. I was expecting a big payoff! I was expecting to be moved to tears! I was expecting to be first in line when they make this into a movie! But . . . none of this happened. I cannot tell why it won awards. I am not sure why my friends give it high praise. I cannot put this up there with other books I have read with similar subject matter. And, I will not go see this if they make it into a movie. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 1.

So, 1 star . . . that’s it for me. I hope that you enjoyed it, and I don’t discourage others from trying it, but I cannot recommend it or go higher with my rating. ...more

488 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2017 Mariah Roze rated it liked it

Shelves: diversity-in-all-forms-book-club

I read this book for the Goodreads' book club Diversity in All Forms. Below is the link to our discussion if you would like to join:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I enjoyed this book, but there was something about it that I didn't love. I'm not sure if it was because of the writing, because it was hard to tell what was true information and what wasn't. I found the story interesting and would this suggest this book to a lot of people, but I definitely wouldn't say it was one of the best ...more

59 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2018 Puck rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: people-of-colour, historical-fiction

“All men are created equal, unless we decide you are not a man.”

The Underground Railroad was one of the most praised historical-fiction novels from last year, and that is (mostly) well deserved. Yet I found it lacking something, something that sadly prevented me from agreeing with all the praise.

The book tells the story of runaway slave Cora, who together with fellow slave Caesar escape their Georgia plantation in the hope of finding safety and freedom. They escape with the help of the Un ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2016 Toni FGMAMTC rated it liked it

Shelves: historical, historical-fiction, african-american-fiction, slavery, oprahs-book-club

I think this is an interesting, important and terrible subject matter. Everyone needs to learn some about it if you haven't. I think the author could have made things more personal. I didn't feel as emotionally involved as I would have liked. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

May 11, 2017 Jan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: african-american-experience, historical-fiction, award-winning, fiction, american, audible-books, historical, civil-rights, southern-usa, pulitzer

This novel won the Pulitzer Prize. Well deserved, I agree. It was a tough read. As a white woman, I pray that if I had lived then and had been white, that I would have been an abolitionist and a force for good. The book did have several white characters who were forces for good and who risked everything to help runaways on the Underground Railroad. But, let's face it, most of the white characters in the book and probably most of the white people (in the South and perhaps the North) were unkind, This novel won the Pulitzer Prize. Well deserved, I agree. It was a tough read. As a white woman, I pray that if I had lived then and had been white, that I would have been an abolitionist and a force for good. The book did have several white characters who were forces for good and who risked everything to help runaways on the Underground Railroad. But, let's face it, most of the white characters in the book and probably most of the white people (in the South and perhaps the North) were unkind, if not deadly, to the people running away from slavery.

I found it refreshing, if not disheartening, to read this story of enslaved people running and fighting for their freedom. It is written by a black American novelist and his perspective is provoking. I was disheartened by the violence and hatred which flowed from the white people as lava flows from a volcano, molten and destroying everything in its path. What is disheartening is that it is true; that really happened.

The characters were well crafted and I immediately grew to care for them. Cora, the main protagonist, runs from the Randall plantation in Georgia with Caesar. They are doggedly pursued by the slaver catcher Ridgeway ( I did not grow to care for him!). The specter of Cora's mother Mabel haunts the book. She abandoned the child Cora for her pursuit of freedom, and Cora grows to resent her for wanting freedom more than she wanted her child. Royal is a handsome Underground Railroad scout/warrior who melts Cora's heart. These are just some of the amazing characters that work, run to or chase after the Underground Railroad.

Cora rides the "train" several times and travels to South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana. Don't be fooled into thinking that if she traveled to Indiana, she will be safe. The author portrays historical facts that occurred; for example, tests on black men and women who had syphilis. They believed they were being treated, when actually the "medication" was merely a placebo. These people were being studied and their disease analyzed with the same disdain as if they were lab rats. Many women were sterilized without their permission or knowledge. Entire communities of free black people were attacked just like Native American villages (The Sand Creek Massacre) where everyone, men, women and children were targets of fire, rape, torture and murder.

The indomitable spirit of Cora was refreshing and inspiring. She is truly a great American hero! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2020 Ashley Jacobson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: to-read-fiction

I really enjoyed the structure of the book, but I would have been so lost if I had not read a comment that said each section was a jump in time. The Underground Railroad takes them not only to different cities, but to different time periods. So we see racism throughout the history of the country, though it’s pretty unclear what time period we are in, unless you know you’re going ahead in time and look closely at the details for clues. But it’s a cool idea! And the story was well done, as were th ...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Marcela rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

2.5 STARS
I was so excited and really looking forward to reading this book after learning about all of its awards and accolades, including the Goodreads' 2016 historical fiction winner—which is my favorite genre. This is my first book by Colson Whitehead, and perhaps my last as my main problem with this book was the author's style. The story of Cora, a slave in Georgia, and her excruciating journey to find freedom. Told from a third-person perspective, it was difficult to get into the main charac ...more

1 like · Like · see review