The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (National Book Award Winner) (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel Hardcover – August 2, 2016

When I first came across Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, I honestly wondered what a contemporary writer could add to the canon of antebellum literature. Could a Harvard graduate born after Dr. King’s assassination really provide any insight beyond that which had already been provided by many who had actually lived it? Contemporary African American writers have shown a tendency to delve into the psychological and spiritual lives of African Americans during slavery, and this novel is certainly a reflection of that trend, as Whitehead’s portrayal of a slave escape (an unfair shortening of what the novel truly is) is not only riveting storytelling but also a take on the psyche of the American slave that is fresh and different.When I say it is different, I hesitate: It is, in many ways, a tale of the deplorable conditions of slavery that are all too familiar. The difference is the absolute bleakness with which Whitehead overwhelms the reader in a setting that gives birth to both his narrative and the psyches of his characters. Largely told through the limited third person perspective of the protagonist Cora (though other characters’ perspectives are also employed), the bleakness of her and her people’s lot emanates from the pages: bleak circumstances, little hope, and only momentary rests in a landscape rife with violence, danger, hate, and darkness. Indeed, Cora’s notion that the world seemed “As if… there were no places to escape to, only places to flee” is a notion the reader retains throughout this work.What Whitehead has done is recreate a landscape similar to the one found in Zone One, a zombie tale that, like the novel reviewed herein, defies the conventions of its genre. The barren and bleak wasteland containing the possibility of danger at every turn, with only moments of rest in between episodes of danger, is reminiscent of The Underground Railroad. Such a world is expected in a zombie tale, and yes, dangers were possible at every turn for escaped slaves, but Whitehead brings them to life so masterfully that it is sometimes gut wrenching to turn the pages. Just as in Zone One, we know any respite or peace found in The Underground Railroad is, as its main characters also are, in constant danger. “Sometimes a slave will be lost in a brief eddy of liberation,” the narrator remarks, and time and again, the reader gets lost in the same reverie, only for the ugly horror looming in the background to intrude upon both the characters’ and the reader’s respite.Whitehead’s prose is refreshing in its descriptiveness. His focus on darkness, blackness, and barrenness in many of his scenes adds to the suspenseful effect of ever-present danger. His haunting description of burned fields and mountains in Tennessee is among the most vivid and undeniably memorable of the novel. The biggest complaint by negative reviewers on Amazon is that it is “poorly written,” mostly referring to Whitehead’s tendency to use sentence fragments within his prose, yet these are typically well-placed and rhythmical, adding a verse-like effect and sometimes adding the effect of fragmentation of thoughts, speech, etc. Human beings often think and speak in fragments, and these seem fitting for Whitehead’s chosen point-of-view, making his characters more authentic. The technique also emphasizes the fragmented society about which he writes. In short, everything Whitehead does works together masterfully towards a single effect even Poe would admire, and the chilling horror in the aforementioned mountainside scenes even rivals Poe’s masterful descriptive powers.There is yet another similarity to Zone One: the idea of “otherness.” In Zone One, Whitehead “challenges readers to think about how we dehumanize others, how society tramples and consumes individuals, and how vulnerable we all are" (from the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Vol. 2, "The Contemporary Period.) The Lieutenant, a character in Zone One, says of zombies, “Mustn’t humanize them. The whole thing breaks down unless you are fundamentally sure that they are not you." Clearly the whites depicted in The Underground Railroad, save the ones involved with the railroad itself, had applied that logic to African Americans. Accepting such a lie not only condones but also encourages the horrific violence Whitehead describes, violence with an unfortunate historical basis.In short, The Underground Railroad is a contemporary masterpiece. Whitehead’s “Acknowledgements” section references several works to which he feels indebted; it is doubtless that he could have added hundreds more. While indebted to slave narratives, Whitehead has the ability to describe the realities of slavery with its ugly and naked truths woven into a nightmarish reality that is perhaps closer to depicting the psyche of enslaved men and women who longed for freedom than those primary sources whose audience shaped their purpose and limited their range of expression. Whitehead resists employing flowery prose and cliche figures of speech to attempt to depict what his setting, a claustrophobic nightmare characterized by darkness and ugliness and dotted with people just as ugly, does for him. The story is breathed forth from this setting almost effortlessly.To call this a bleak book without hope, though, would be misguided. At one point, during an exploration of a library, Cora finds many stories of her people, “the stories of all the colored people she had ever known, the stories of black people yet to be born, the foundations of their triumphs.” The Underground Railroad is an important and significant contribution to these stories of the African American experience -- a story of struggles and triumphs, nightmares and dreams, hopes and fears. The Underground Railroad, like numerous other important African American works, makes room for hope and endurance in the midst of adversity and a universe that, though it may indifferently overwhelm its inhabitants, is still one in which we must live.

I was very interested In Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad when I noticed it on a store bookshelf. I thought it was going to be a daring tale of adventure that led to happiness and freedom. Unfortunately, this fiction book took a more realistic approach when it came to surviving a mad dash to freedom in the North as a black American. Be prepared for a dark, dangerous tale of survival as a young black girl in racist America. Trigger warnings / CW for the book include racism, assault, rape, and murder.I found the story riveting from start to finish and became fully invested in Cora’s journey to freedom. It feels easy to write off this part of history as long ago, but Whitehead does a phenomenal job at describing the horrors that an entire race of people had to endure for too long. There were several scenes that left me horrified and heartbroken, and many characters that I would have liked to have some strong words with. Cora also makes several allies that help her along her journey. One great thing about this book is that you never stop rooting for Cora.Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is a fictional tale of a young slave’s escape to freedom. Like her mother and grandmother, young Cora is a slave on the Randall Plantation. She does what she can to keep out of the eyes of the overseers and masters. That all changes when Caeser asks her to accompany him to the fabled Underground Railroad. A reluctant Cora makes her way underground in an attempt to outrun the infamous slave catcher Arnold Ridgeway. Her travels take her to a seemingly utopian city in South Carolina, a classic American town in North Carolina, across Tenessee, and into Indiana. She discovers many dangerous plots and encounters many close calls in her attempt to live as a free woman.

Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is a novel that everyone should be required to read. Set in the late 1800s, the novel follows a young runaway slave, Cora, on her journey of self-discovery in the underground railroad through many states in the Eastern United States. Cora was born into slavery, just like her mother before her. And like her mother, after truly terrifying and brutal experiences, Cora decides she must at least try to escape the terrible life of a slave on the Randall plantation. She knows that if she doesn’t escape, she will die there and that bad things will happen to her before that death occurs.Along her journey, Cora travels, sometimes with others but mostly on her own through the underground railroad into different states. Whitehead envisions the underground railroad as actual railroads with trains and train stations and each one is representative of the state that Cora is traveling to or from. In states where Cora is afforded a few more freedoms and a better life, the stations and trains are a little less run down. In other states, where it is more dangerous to be a black person, free or otherwise, the trains and stations are in full disrepair. When Cora must make her final escape, after losing everyone she has ever loved or cared about along the way, she must make her own way on a handcart in a tunnel that has barely been finished.Though difficult to read at times, The Underground Railroad depicts a fictional telling of the actual underground railroad. Whitehead shows us, through Cora’s reflections and interactions with others, that confronting difficult situations is just a part of life. He also shows us that, in order to make it out of those difficult situations, we sometimes have only ourselves to rely on.--Julia K.

La historia y la calidad del libro 10 de 10

I should not have watched the series before reading the book, as a result i got impatient with some of the details. However it still doesn't downplay how well written this book was. Particularly with the demise of some of the characters of this story, like Cora's mother and Caesar.

Underground railroad, conforme informa a wikipedia, era uma série de trilhas e casas de pessoas simpatizantes do abolicionismo, que nos EUA do século XIX, ajudava escravos a fugir para o norte do país e o Canadá. Colson Whitehead, porém, transforma esse nome meio metafórico no título do seu livro e numa ferrovia subterrânea de verdade que ajudava escravos a fugir. Seu romance, talvez um dos mais importantes publicados em língua inglesa em 2016, acompanha a trajetória de Cora em sua fuga.A narrativa organizada pela jornada real e simbólica da protagonista rumo à liberdade é a chance do autor explorar diversas vertentes presentes no seu país na época. Há desde os abolicionistas hipócritas que tomam conta de uma cidade inteira – onde Cora acaba trabalhando como “atriz” num museu, representando seu trabalho na plantação – até a religiosa extremista que quer um escravo fugitivo para chamar de seu e salvar sua alma convertendo-o ao Cristianismo, entre outras coisas.THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD é um romance histórico que ressoa fortemente no presente com a questão racial tão forte nos EUA do presente – não apenas lá, é claro – cujo passado escravocrata é, de tempos em tempos, convenientemente varrido para debaixo do tapete. Não há maquiagem nos EUA antebellum retratado no romance. É o país da elite escravocrata que abusa sexualmente e engravida suas escravas, é também aquele do caçador de escravos para quem estes não têm qualquer humanidade, e são o país e o momento quando poderia existir uma personagem como Cora.Não parte dela a ideia da fuga, ela é chamada por um outro escravo a se unir a ele, o que a transforma, a princípio numa personagem que mais reage do que age, até o momento em que a reação não é suficiente, e ela precisa tomar sua vida para si. Isso, no entanto, é um processo, desde o despertar da necessidade até quando pode realmente se materializar. A jornada de Cora é entrecortada por capítulos em que são personagens secundários ganham o proscênio, e isso ajuda a dar a dimensão do momento e da protagonista no mundo que a cerca.“Os brancos estavam certos de ter medo. Um dia o sistema iria ruir em sangue”, diz o narrador verbalizando um pensamento de Cora. O sangue tem sido derramado, mas o sistema, ainda não ruiu. Há apenas pontos de inflexão ao longo da História, conforme mostram o romance de Whitehead e sua protagonista.

Difficult language to understand for someone who English is not the native language. Even though I indeed enjoyed the subject

Outro livro escolhido pela Oprah em seu clube do livro, um inglês para intermediários, o tema é interessante, mas esperava mais depois de ver tanta propaganda deste livro.