The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (National Book Award Winner) By Colson Whitehead
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Web ID: 6189565Never Free
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that I am a white man. I recognize that my reading and interpretation of this book are influenced by my background, which may limit my understanding of the complexities of Cora's experiences. I strive to broaden my perspective by engaging with the works of Colson Whitehead, Toni Morrison, Isabel Wilkerson, and other Black authors. My goal is not to seek praise, but to genuinely learn and grow through these readings. You can usually tell how a book is going to read if it won the Pulitzer as this one did. Basically, it's going to be heavy and probably a little tough to get through. This book is no different. It is clear that Colson Whitehead was blessed with the gift of writing. But sometimes I don't want a lot of flowery language or metaphor slowing me down. The format of the book was interesting although I do feel it got a little in the way of the main story. It's broken up between telling Cora's story of escape and migration north and other vignettes focusing on a specific character. As for the vignettes, they were of course well-written and were fine short stories in their own right. But did they really belong here? All the characters, from Ridgeway to Caesar and others, were featured in various ways throughout Cora's story. But they didn't always add much to Cora's story, which is what I wanted to read about. As for Cora's story, I have to say I was a bit frustrated. Her story started strong with her time in Georgia on the plantation. The scenes were rough, as I'm sure life was. I was most fascinated by her hesitation to escape, thinking maybe her mother would come back to the plantation. By the time she decided to go with Caesar, I was ready to follow her on her journey to freedom. Her escape with Caesar was exciting (and a bit sad at one particular point) and when she got to the first station of the Underground Railroad, I couldn't wait to see where she ended up. And then from there the book really fell flat for me. Her experiences on the actual train were kind of boring. I was really hoping she would get more interaction with fellow passengers and maybe getting vignettes of their experiences. But very little of the book actually took place on, around, or even in reference to the Underground Railroad. I really thought it would feature more prominently than it did. And then her time in various places were just plain forgettable. Mostly because once she moved past those experiences, they weren't really referenced again. By the end I understood the message of the book being that her journey to freedom will never truly be over. In fact, just because she left the South doesn't mean she won't continue to have to fight for liberation. I don't really know what I was expecting. How could she escape and then live happily ever after when she'll always be on the run and in a time in America that sold her as property because of the color of her skin. In the end, I just couldn't give this any more than 3 out of 5 stars. I think I'll watch the show on Amazon at some point. Perhaps that will give me a different perspective and help me appreciate the book more.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A harrowing view into a journey to freedom
I quite enjoyed The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. The plot was well-fleshed out and led us on a journey full of difficulties, betrayal, abuse, and scenes from history so abhorrent it's hard to understand why people acted the way that they did. This was a story about the underground railroad different from others I've read, and I appreciated the frank, sometimes brutal, portrayal of history. I was a little thrown by the order of the different sections of the book, but overall, the different perspectives added to the story and described Cora's journey to freedom.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Important Story
Colson Whitehead is not afraid to slap his readers in the face with very real details of America’s terrible history and it’s very hard to read. I was already crying by the end of the first part, which is 8 pages long. Although it elicited a lot of emotion from me, the writing itself is very matter-of-fact and unemotional, which felt a little jarring at first, but soon came to feel like a nod to how powerless Cora and the other slaves were. Every horrible thing that happened was just a fact of life, and they had to remove themselves from it without dwelling on it or allowing themselves to feel those painful emotions. Even after her escape, Cora often felt powerless, unable to be herself, unable to embrace any of her true emotions. I think the writing reflected that perfectly. However, there were some jumps in time here and there that were really confusing for me as there was a severe lack of cohesive transition between flashbacks and the now. Sometimes it was a couple weeks ago, sometimes it was right now, sometimes it was suddenly a month later, and I often had no idea which it was until I read quite a bit and figured it out for myself. I loved Cora and I loved the premise, but the erratic timeline and the incredibly abrupt ending unfortunately hindered my overall enjoyment of the book. The ending is really the thing that messed with me the most. I can’t figure out why it ended so suddenly! Still, I’d recommend The Underground Railroad to basically everyone ever. It’s an important story that highlights a part of American history that too many people ignore but shouldn’t be forgotten, and it is absolutely worth the read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Genius writer...
Many thanks to Goodreads, Anchor Books, & Penguin Random House for this gifted book . I was so excited to win this Goodreads Giveaway! WOW. Colson Whitehead is genius. His literal depiction of the Underground Railroad was so believable, I suddenly thought I had misunderstood my history lessons in school. While the term Underground Railroad has always been used metaphorically to denote a complex system of transporting slaves to safety, Mr. Whitehead imagines actual tunnels with tracks built by slaves with help along the way from abolitionists. That depiction was in and of itself was sort of an allegory of our marred history - the unimaginable was actually real. It read like historical fiction and I was immediately transported. Of course, the brutality was 100% accurate. The savagery is always shameful and no matter how many books I read on this topic, I can't fathom how people could treat fellow human beings in such an inhumane way. And through it all, Cora remained resolute in her journey, and I felt her pain, reluctance, and hope as if I were right there beside her. Whitehead writes with such emotional intensity, it's no wonder he received the Pulitzer Prize & National Book Award for Fiction for this gem of a novel.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Very inaccurate narrative
Random incidents of history that are inaccurately reported make up most of this book. There were no tunnels or train tracks by which abolitionists moved the blacks to freedom. While supposedly set in 1850, the various events described took place through pre civil war days until the Depression of the 20th century. They were part of a much bigger, broader scope than this book implies.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Dark History
I can understand why Colton Whitehead won a Pulitzer for this book. It is difficult to read the true story of the Underground Railroad and not feel great pain. However, his writing style is compelling and his language is brilliant. I am sad about this tragic time in American history, but I am grateful that Colton Whitehead had the courage to write it.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Inspiring
I was there. I was there with Cora through everything. I wish teachers would use this book when teaching about the lives of slaves, for it was more eye-opening than any lecture I have received. Everyone should read this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An eloquent story of historical fiction
I felt jerked around between the aspect of a fictional railroad and the actual history of slavery. I do wish the whole story was just from the perspective of Cora, I would have gladly given up the other characters just to know her better. Overall I am impressed by Whitehead and how he was able to sprinkle beauty into this horrific time in history while at the same time reminding us of what really happened.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com