The Underground Railroad in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 06, 2017 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: social-justice, challenge, diversity

Cora is a slave on a plantation run by a cruel owner. The first time she is asked to run away, she says no. The second time, yes.

You'll never buy the tales of happy slaves singing around their cabins with their owners again. You'll never see a Confederate flag and look on it as a gentle reminder of the old South again. You will walk in the shoes of slaves and it will change you. ...more

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Jan 17, 2017 Nancy H rated it really liked it

Although this is not a book that one can actually 'like' because of the subject matter, it is extremely well-written, compelling, and a timely but shameful reminder of where we used to be in this country. It is a book that shows just what black people had to endure, and the shameful humanity that put millions through the degradation, misery, and total horror of slavery. It is an unpleasant but sadly accurate picture of where we were in that time in history. Let's hope and pray that positive chan ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Johanne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-books, black-authors

I’ve been asking myself “what can I do?” Because actions speak louder than words. I don’t feel safe to go out and protest right now - health issues in conflict with Covid - but I’m looking for other ways to be active in antiracism.

I’m signing petitions, writing letters and making donations. I’m posting and having some tough conversations when they are needed.

I’ve also made a conscious choice to support Black authors. I love to read. The last few years, I’ve gotten most of my books from the libr I’ve been asking myself “what can I do?” Because actions speak louder than words. I don’t feel safe to go out and protest right now - health issues in conflict with Covid - but I’m looking for other ways to be active in antiracism.

I’m signing petitions, writing letters and making donations. I’m posting and having some tough conversations when they are needed.

I’ve also made a conscious choice to support Black authors. I love to read. The last few years, I’ve gotten most of my books from the library. But during this time, I have been ordering some books on line. And I decided to spend my money on books by Black writers, ordered from a bookstore in Toronto that is a Black owned business. Because #redistributethewealth But equally importantly, there are a lot of really great books by Black writers. I’ve amassed a nice little pile and I’ll share them here as I read them. We can learn from them, and perhaps more importantly, they can take us inside other lives and other realities and build our sense of empathy with lives different from our own. This is always why I have read books. To see the world from other perspectives.

Yesterday, I finished The Underground Railroad, by American author Colson Whitehead. It’s the story of Cora and her struggles to free herself from slavery. The novel is beautiful and eviscerating.

Among many other things, I came away from this book with the understanding that saying systems like modern policing are “broken” is a lie. Those systems function perfectly well doing the job they were originally designed and intended to do, which is to keep people of colour repressed, by brutal and deadly means if necessary. This is why we must defund. Because you can’t fix something that isn’t broken. You have to remove it and start over with something new.

“And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes - believes with all its heart - that it is their right to take the land. To kill Indians. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn’t exist, if there is any justice in the world, for its foundations are murder, theft and cruelty. Yet here we are”.

Always remember, these words apply to Canada, too. ...more

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Jan 10, 2019 Mike rated it it was ok

After reading so many positive reviews, I was looking forward to something I’d really enjoy. The resolution to the core problem of escape was solved in a lazy deus ex machina form with very little credibility. While the life and various problems of slavery is very well described the author relied on a structure of a creative interpretation of the underground railroad which not only seemed forced but unnecessary and a distraction. All in all it was wrapping paper for a parable aimed at a modern w ...more

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