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What Members Thought
Yet another book that in my opinion didn't quite live up to its hype. It has an interesting premise - what if the Underground Railroad were actually a railroad? But it doesn't do much with that premise. It was an interesting study in seeing the various states' responses to slavery (imagined or no), and had some very well-written passages, but...I'm just not getting why it received ALL the praise it did.
Is it my white privilege showing? Seriously. I fully admit that this could be why I'm underwh ...more
Is it my white privilege showing? Seriously. I fully admit that this could be why I'm underwh ...more
Backed by Oprah, and with the intriguing premise of the Underground Railroad being a literal railroad, I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, the characters were underdeveloped and the prose never hooked me. Recommended instead: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
To be reviewed after book club on Friday.
Update: Brilliantly written and more intellectual than emotional. Almost as if the author was trying to convey every experience of runaway slaves into one story. Possible disagreement about the ending and whether the idea of a physical railroad made the book into magical realism and if that device worked for a book based on real history. Still worth recommending.
Update: Brilliantly written and more intellectual than emotional. Almost as if the author was trying to convey every experience of runaway slaves into one story. Possible disagreement about the ending and whether the idea of a physical railroad made the book into magical realism and if that device worked for a book based on real history. Still worth recommending.
It will take me a while to process the various themes in this book. It's deceptively easy to read, but provokes a lot of deep thought.
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Aug 10, 2016
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Dec 14, 2017
Sarah
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2017-reading-challenge,
read-harder-2017
Nov 25, 2016
Erika
marked it as to-read
Dec 11, 2016
Melanie
marked it as to-read
Dec 14, 2016
Holli
marked it as to-read
Dec 30, 2016
Lee-Ann
marked it as to-read
Jan 10, 2017
Jenny Skinner
marked it as to-read
Jan 13, 2017
Laura
marked it as to-read
Mar 26, 2017
Malinda
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2018
Liesl
marked it as to-read
