Underground Railroad - Background and General (no spoilers) (Aug 2019)

[Hugh]

This is the background/spoiler thread for The Underground Railroad discussion. Bryan will be creating spoiler threads when he is ready, but for now you can discuss whether you plan to join us, what your experiences of reading Whitehead are and any other background info.

Please do not post any comments that reveal plot details or anything else that might spoil the book for a new reader.

A few reviews (these may contain spoilers:)

The Guardian
The Guardian again
New York Times
Irish Times

[Elaine]

I have a copy and have been intending to read it for at least a year, so I welcome this opportunity. Interesting too that Whitehead has a new novel out that is getting rave reviews, which is certainly motivating. Has anyone read any of his other works?

[Hugh]

I have only read The Underground Railroad, which I read when it was longlisted for the 2017 Booker prize. I enjoyed it, but there were several other books on that list I liked more, and my expectations may have been unrealistically high after its prize success in America.
I am not committing myself to a reread, as this year's Booker list has to take precedence, but I should be able to remember enough to chip in, and will follow the discussions.

[Ellen]

I've requested a copy from the library so hopefully I'll be able to join in this conversation. This book is one I've been meaning to read since its publication.

[Tamara]

I read it two years ago. I don't plan to re-read it, but I think i can remember enough to participate in the discussion.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

Thank you, Hugh, for setting this up.

As Hugh mentioned, I'll be setting up some spoiler threads soon--probably even before I get a chance to begin reading, so others can talk about it if they wish. Unfortunately, I got caught between leaving for an extended absence from home and the time when the book won the poll, but I will be able to start reading around the 6th or 7th.

I was interested in reading this after some of the buzz it generated when it first came out--I also remember hearing a little bit about his earlier novels Sag Harbor and Zone One, though I've not had a chance to read them yet.

Looking forward to the discussion!

[Lily]

Hugh wrote: I am not committing myself to a reread... but I should be able to remember enough to chip in, and will follow the discussions."

Likewise. I picked up some tidbits of history I didn't know going into that original reading. I had visited Kansas for the first time that summer for the solar eclipse, even though I grew up in the Midwest. I'm not sure I fully grasped the full arc of what Whitehead was doing, or trying to do, so look forward to the discussion here.

[Marc]

Read this one not too long ago. Hopefully, my memory is strong enough to join in. Haven't read any of his other works, but have had a few on my TBR list for a while now.

[David]

The first Whitehead book I read was his first, The Intuitionist, which I read a dozen years ago. I found it a fascinating read, but I didn't read any Whitehead again until The Underground Railroad. I'd be interested to know what other books of his people have read and how they think they compare (in style and subject matter as well as quality).

[David]

For those interested, according to Literary Hub Colson Whitehead has won more distinct awards than any other literary author (7) and The Underground Railroad has won more different major awards (4) than any other novel.

Read that article here: https://lithub.com/which-writers-have...

[Adrian]

I'm looking forward to this one. I recently read The Nickel Boys and really appreciated Whitehead's prose style and narrative restraint. That book lent well to discussion so I imagine The Underground Railroad will be the same.

[Sue]

I read this one last year and I'm looking forward to participating in the discussion.

I thought the book was very creative and well-written.

[James]

I read The Underground Railroad just recently. I had picked a copy up and it's been on my shelf for a few months. Thought I'd read it so I could appreciate the discussion and hopefully contribute too.

[LindaJ^]

I read this shortly after it came out and will not be rereading. I will follow the discussions and comment if it makes sense.

[Lily]

From @1: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...

Although I might perhaps not gush as much as Eileen Battersby does in the Irish Times., I did find her review an excellent way of recalling the book and appreciated her take on themes and significance and construction of the novel.

As I rethink the novel (and Toni Morrison this week, with her death and my f2f club read of Sula ), I am reminded of another slave story that left a particularly powerful impression on me of the slave-master relationship, even where some of that relationship was apparently "good" for a considerable period of time: Slave Old Man by Patrick Chamoiseau. That book says so much so deeply in a short amount of space. I will say, if you haven't read it, at least consider doing so.

[Hugh]

Lily, thanks. To save anyone else checking or thinking there might be two different Irish Times reviews, that review is already in the list I posted in my introductory comment.

[Tamara]

Lily wrote: "I am reminded of another slave story that left a particularly powerful impression on me of the slave-master relationship, even where some of that relationship was apparently "good" for a considerable period of time: Slave Old Man by Patrick Chamoiseau..."

I read it last year based on your recommendation, Lily. I really enjoyed it and agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. It was a short book that packed a powerful punch.
Thanks for the recommendation :)

[Lily]

Hugh wrote: "Lily, thanks. To save anyone else checking or thinking there might be two different Irish Times reviews, that review is already in the list I posted in my introductory comment."

(LOL) Sorry, Hugh. I tried doing the "reply" thing and the link disappeared under Irish Times. I have never been very successful in applying an html link to a phrase (yes, I can do it if I work at it!), so in my haste I just went to the site from your entry @1 and used the link itself in my comment. Didn't intend confusion, just to make it possibly quicker to get to the review from my comments @16.....

[Lily]

Tamara wrote: "I read it {Slave Old Man } last year... It was a short book that packed a powerful punch."

Thanks, Tamara. I find myself hesitating to use "enjoy" to describe books that record the horrors and evils of the world, but Patrick Chamoiseau's language and descriptions are so lush and his characterizations (slave, master, mastiff) so powerfully delivered, that I can agree with you in this case. All in such a short space.

[LindaJ^]

It is not a 21st Century literature book, but in Kindred. Octavia E. Butler does a good job exploring the slave/master relationship in her most"main stream" novel. Butler, the rare1970's African-American female science fiction author used time travel to have her 1970's mixed couple travel back and experience life on a plantation.

[David]

Lily wrote: "I am reminded of another slave story that left a particularly powerful impression on me of the slave-master relationship, even where some of that relationship was apparently "good" for a considerable period of time"

I was reminded of Lawrence Hill's great 2007 novel The Book of Negroes (published in the US under the title Somebody Knows My Name). It is the story of a woman who, as a girl, is kidnapped in Africa by slave traders, brought to the US where she is enslaved, eventually escapes in New York, comes to Canada as a free woman and eventually returns to Africa in the exodus of people from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone. During her time in the US she has several different slave owners and her relationships with them vary greatly in terms of severity and kindness. Highly recommended.

[Lily]

A link to my review of TUR in 2017 is below. Be aware that despite the heading of this thread, the review does contain spoilers. I enter it here because it does include links to several additional professional reviews. (I did not check whether they are all current.) If any interest you, I especially recommend the interviews, like NPR or the National Book Award.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...