The Underground Railroad

A Novel

Hardcover, 320 pages

English language

Published Aug. 2, 2016 by Doubleday.

ISBN:
978-0-385-54236-4
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OCLC Number:
933420484

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(3 reviews)

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned—Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor—engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city’s placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, …

2 editions

The train threw me off a bit.

This is one of those times that I actually appreciated the time jumps. It was satisfying to get to see what happened to Cora's mom and what was going through Caesar's mind when he picked Cora. Gruesome realities of slavery are on display throughout, so just be sure that you're up for the journey when you dive into this.

I did not feel like I had the ending figured out at all. After so much bad crazy stuff happening along the journey, I could not say that I was certain if Cora was going to survive in the end or not. Good execution on Whitehead's part through this book.

I would recommend this one for sure, but just be prepared with the Underground Railroad being a literal train under the ground. That threw me off quite a bit because the rest of the book is so heavily based in reality. …

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