I did The Thing again where I was traveling and I read all the books and now I have to review them in a jumble. Thankfully, I’m starting with one that was absolutely brilliant and I will definitely not confuse with anything else. Let’s hit the ground running, y’all. Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is a story of an escape from slavery, exceptionally true-to-life except for a significant ‘what if’: what if the Underground Railroad was an actual goddamn underground railroad? Like with tracks and trains […]
A worthy literary endeavor that left me underwhelmed
Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Underground Railroad, was another Mocha Girls Read book club selection. The novel follows Cora on her Odyssey-like journey to escape slavery traveling a magical realistic underground railroad. “Here was the true Great Spirit, the divine thread connecting all human endeavor – if you can keep it, it is yours. Your property, slave or continent. The American imperative.” – page 80 It begins in Africa following the first slaves as they were stolen and brought over to America. From […]
Slavery and “freedom” in the new world
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding The Underground Railroad (2016) by Colson Whitehead. It was, of course, on my most-used book list this year: NPR’s Best Books of 2016. But just in case that’s not enough, it also won the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award. I’d heard a little bit about it before reading it, and I have to say I wasn’t sold on it. A real underground railroad during slavery? I couldn’t understand why Whitehead would feel the need to add that fantastical […]
Historical Fiction that Feels Real
Best for: People who like good, intense writing and want a bit more insight into slavery in the U.S. In a nutshell: Cora escapes the plantation she is enslaved on and faces more challenges and danger. Line that sticks with me: “Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren’t looking, alluring and ever out of reach.” Why I chose it: It’s been on my shelf for a few months; my visiting brother-in-law suggested it was a good book […]