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Barbara asked this question about The Underground Railroad:
Does anyone like that the author wrote the railroad as a physical, operating one? I felt it unnecessary and beyond the scope of possibility.
Jim The actual, operating underground railroad hurt this book for me. I nearly stopped reading when I saw that nonsense.

The literal railroad does not seem…moreThe actual, operating underground railroad hurt this book for me. I nearly stopped reading when I saw that nonsense.

The literal railroad does not seem to serve any story-telling purpose. Perhaps it is a metaphor for something, but I'm hard pressed to imagine what for.

If the literal railroad was conceived as an alternate history or fantasy exercise, the author went nowhere with it. We are given no insight into how things might have been different if the railroad had been real.

Alternate histories should have an internal logic. The alternate world should make sense. The railroad, as described, made no sense at all. Cora asks "Who built this?" The answer is mysterious: "Who builds everything?" The possible answers, including slaves, freedmen, abolitionists, God, or engineers from Wakanda are equally stupid.

Readers have every right to expect a book of this title to contain reasonably accurate historical fiction. Fantasies and alternative histories should be clearly labeled as such.


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The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead (Goodreads Author)
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