The Underground Railroad in Overdue Podcast

Aug 14, 2017 Hyzie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library

I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did.

My first sign of trouble was the much vaunted "the underground railroad is an actual railroad!" scene (I'm assuming that is not a spoiler since it is blatantly stated in every single synopsis, though it might have been a better scene if it wasn't?). It smacked of magical realism. Generally, I want to smack magical realism, so I should probably not be surprised that this didn't work for me, but I was still hoping to get some sense of awe from i I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did.

My first sign of trouble was the much vaunted "the underground railroad is an actual railroad!" scene (I'm assuming that is not a spoiler since it is blatantly stated in every single synopsis, though it might have been a better scene if it wasn't?). It smacked of magical realism. Generally, I want to smack magical realism, so I should probably not be surprised that this didn't work for me, but I was still hoping to get some sense of awe from it. I didn't.

Overall, that was my real problem with the book: I didn't feel awe. I didn't feel much of anything. I've had more visceral reactions to textbooks about this time period. One of the "main" characters disappears partway through the book and it's somehow no big deal.

Our main character, Cora, has basically no emotional response to anything that happens throughout the novel. Some extremely horrific stuff happens throughout the novel. It is a novel about slavery. It is a novel about the racism that was common at the time period even of people who were not slave owners. There are murder and executions and beatings and horrible things happening. Cora remains alarmingly aloof from it all.

I'm almost inclined to think that this is somehow an intentional choice, that she is there to serve as author mouthpiece throughout. She has occasional bizarre knowledge (at one point she casually mentions how difficult life is in Ireland at the time period) and while she makes excellent points on several occasions, she makes narrator-style points comparing white life to slavery life aloud to moderately racist people, who never seem to respond. It feels like she's talking to the readers instead of the characters she's interacting with.

Maybe that is all more magical realism--I'll be completely honest and admit I don't get the genre at all--but it didn't work for me. I wanted to be right there with her in this brutal time period, and not only was I not there, she didn't seem to be there most of the time. Everything remained clinical throughout, and with a story like this, set in a time period where everything was horrifying, I was hoping for more. ...more

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Jul 25, 2018 Kaylie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: lit-cred, home, set-america

The Underground Railroad was a gift from A, and I'm fairly sure she said she chose it because it had won a load of prizes. It also fits in well with other things I've read — books like The Floating Theatre and Sugar Money. I was a bit worried, because of all the prizes, that The Underground Railroad was going to be dense and difficult to read, but it pleasantly surprised me on that score. I found the early chapters very intriguing, especially when the narrative shifted away from Cora's perspecti The Underground Railroad was a gift from A, and I'm fairly sure she said she chose it because it had won a load of prizes. It also fits in well with other things I've read — books like The Floating Theatre and Sugar Money. I was a bit worried, because of all the prizes, that The Underground Railroad was going to be dense and difficult to read, but it pleasantly surprised me on that score. I found the early chapters very intriguing, especially when the narrative shifted away from Cora's perspective to that of a slave-catcher called Ridgeway. It took me way longer than it should have to realise The Underground Railroad was set in an alternate history, and I admit I don't know enough about the details of the America of this period to be sure what pieces are off the rails, if you'll excuse the pun.

I can see why people liked The Underground Railroad, especially the first third or so. It reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale in the way it built the story out of both things that did happen and things which didn't. Certain things that happened to Cora also reminded me of Offred — she was dehumanised in ways that were probably fictional, but felt like they could have been real.

Unfortunately, the middle of the book really let it down, as far as I was concerned. I expected to see more of Ridgeway after we got a taste of his perspective, and I was disappointed he was featured for such a limited amount of time. As for Cora, it's perfectly understandable that a slave character would have limited agency in the society we're presented, but there are long sections of the book where Cora doesn't do anything, and those didn't really push the story forward in any satisfying way. Even when Cora does take action, it didn't have much of an emotional impact on me as a reader.

The end picked up, a bit, in that it was certainly interesting to read about the Valentine Farm, and wonder how much of it was based on true historical fact. Sadly, I didn't really connect to any of the characters. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale because I do think it has some interesting similarities in style, though I have to admit I think The Handmaid's Tale is probably the better book. ...more

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Aug 13, 2017 Arathy rated it really liked it

I give it 4 not 5, because the writing style was not up to my liking. It was quite difficult to get through for me- in a good way and in a bad way. Bad way, because it wasn't doing well for me writing wise (which is completely subjective, so).
In a good way, because...
1. I read 75% of it today. And whatever is happening in Charlottesville is making me wonder about timeliness of this book (for me). I'm not saying I didn't think of racism as a major crisis, but today makes me wonder how much has c ...more

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Jun 14, 2020 Kathleen Mullins rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book, especially the real but surreal way Cora's search for freedom is manifested--I am always here for a little surrealism/magical realism. Each new location felt like a place out of time representing the variations of oppression that Black people have faced in America. ...more

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May 14, 2021 Molly rated it liked it

I listened to the version read by Bahni Turpin - who is fantastic! I really enjoyed Cora's story her perspective and journey were different from most other stories about the railroad. The only thing that kind of annoyed me was the flashbacks/forwards that happened in the middle of usually a large event usually distracted and confused me from what was going on in the 'present'. Maybe could have been a downfall of the audiobook format. ...more

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