Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this #1 New York Times bestseller chronicles a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. The basis for the acclaimed original Amazon Prime Video series directed by Barry Jenkins.Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp … fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood—where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him.
In Colson Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop.
As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman’s will to escape the horrors of bondage—and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.
Look for Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Harlem Shuffle!
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a new take on the under ground rail and how it was traveled by the slaves
Colson Whitehead’s THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD starts with whispers, like murmuring voices around a campfire–let us tell you this story–and grows to a roar. The novel’s nucleus is Cora, a woman enslaved in Georgia, on the run literally and figuratively. Her inheritance is abandonment, but it is what she believes about her mother’s running so many years before that gives Cora the fuel and fire she needs for her own journey.
Whitehead’s unique use of an actual underground railroad is assured, convincing, and a perfect metaphor for the continual descent into darkness and rebirth at each stop. The brutality in this novel is swift–sucker punches, heartbreak over and over, chapters that require closing and mourning before moving on. I recommend allowing that space between sections, especially as one nears the end of the novel. It makes the book more of an experience and settles it deeply in the bones.
Though set in a distant past, the novel is not only relevant but arguably necessary to the discussion of contemporary issues of race in our country. Whitehead is never sentimental or didactic, and his exploration of what we carry from our ancestors is key if there is to be hope for reconciliation in the future.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD should be taught in literature programs, put on film and shown in theaters, and included in the American literary canon. If we carry a piece of the books we read with us forever, I am glad I now carry THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. I give Colson Whitehead’s brilliant novel my highest recommendation.
We must never forget
Growing up next door to a town that boasted the last, certified stop on the underground railroad as its one and only tourist attractions, I thought I understood the history of slavery. Then, I went to college and studied history and realized the history of slavery I’d learned at an American high school had been whitewashed (pun very much intended). Still, I didn’t understand the cruelty, the fear, the sheer relentlessness of slavery. As a white person who grew up in a liberal Northern state, maybe I never will. Reading Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, however, did bring me several steps closer to understanding slavery and its wide social and economic impacts.
I imagine Cora’s story, except perhaps (and unfortunately) the ending, was not an unusual one. Whitehead paints a clear picture of the cruelty visited on her at the plantation, as well as during her flight. I was not surprised (though I remain appalled) to read that the runaway slave advertisements with which each chapter begins were actual advertisements that Whitehead had plucked from the digital collections of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
The dehumanizing of the slaves is never far from the forefront, but at one point this shocking and inhumane practice slaps the reader in the face. Cora is shocked when the slave catcher, Ridgeway, shoots a slave he had caught instead of returning the slave for the reward. Ridgeway cruelly explains that he wasn’t worth it. When he compared the bounty versus the cost of actually returning him, it wasn’t worth the trouble. I can’t help but cringe as I write those words, because this sort of calculation actually happened. (And the use of ‘it’ instead of he or she when referring to slaves made me simultaneously angry and sad.)
Whitehead does an excellent job of portraying Cora as a real person. She makes mistakes. Oh boy, does she make mistakes. But she is very much a real person. The reader has the privilege of watching as she slowly learns to overcome the cruelties visited upon her. Her reflections on whether people receive their just deserts made my heart break.
Nowhere in the novel does Whitehead sugarcoat events. He even adds discussions between freemen and runaway slaves as to how to proceed in the future. This novel is a must read for everyone. Its themes, especially regarding the dehumanizing of certain races or religions of people, remain topical. If only we could finally learn to not repeat our mistakes of the past.
enjoyed the book but very sad how they treated the blacks in that time period but not all the south was like that towards the black people they gave them good jobs education protected them. from the ones who claim they did crimes there were some real bad ones who did torture them. There good and bad people in all colors and every one on earth At least we knew what happen to Cora mother which is sad to say and wish Cora boyfriend lived i think her life would been better than what she had to still go through after the underground rail road towards Calif were she meet others like her on the same trail going out west than going up north. This was our book for our book club for Jul
Material on this subject is always very difficult for me to read. This book, smoothly yet honestly, told a story that was easier for me to read as it was approached through a mainly intellectual, rather than emotional, viewpoint. As always, I greatly enjoyed Bahni Turpin’s stunning vocal performance.
An amazing story…that moves from reality to imagination…
I couldn’t put it down!! Amazing!
What a creative sci-fi take on a horrible time in our history.
I had an extremely hard time finishing this book. I chose it based the high praise it got when it first came out, but I was very disappointed. I love American history and found it disturbing that the underground railroad referred to in the book was an actual train that ran underground. What! I then stopped and read some reviews on the book and saw where some said this was a metaphor. I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. Perhaps that tainted how I read the book after that point. It took me 11 days and I can usually finish a book with only 300+ pages in 3 days if I really like the book. Two days if I’m really into it. I can honestly say … I’m glad I’m done with this one and can move on to something else.
Their underground railway was a train, underground. I’ve never heard about that
version. I’ve also never heard of runaways building a colony in any Southern state much less South Carolina. It just didn’t ring true.
This is the first time I am reading Colsin Whitehead (Barack Obama’s favorite author), and this one has won so many awards I hesitated to start it. But I am very glad I did. The writing is exquisite! If you have ever read Roots, Beloved or The Color Purple and loved them, you will add this to your faves list, guaranteed. I did the audible version and it was fantastic.
I enjoy reading about the blacks & what they went through to try & survive
I think what the whites did to them was uncalled for & the treatment was proflc so unfair
I learned so much about a very, very important part of American history.
Wonderful historical fiction that truly shows the evils of slavery and the indomitable striving for freedom.
Whitehead paints a beautifully tragic picture rooted in a historically horrific time. Its hard to say that one “enjoys” a book like this because the subject matter is so painful, and shameful, and full of “if onlys.” However, it is excellently written and allows the reader to sit in Cora’s pocket on her journey to find freedom. I felt like Ebeneezer Scrooge must have when he traveled with the Ghost of Christmas past. I was able to see what was happening in Cora’s life but unable to alter its course in anyway because her story is just a shadow of time past. I would have liked to have heard more of her story and felt the ending of the book was too abrupt and incomplete. However, perhaps that was Whitehead’s intention showing us that the story of the African American too is unfinished and continues to be plagued by systemic racism and injustice. It is a great book and worth your time to read and ponder.
The characters are unique, pulling the reader into their feelings and desires. The author provides a new perspective on black slavery during the emancipation and the very slow rate of change from state to state. The raw emotions is at times heart wrenching and then inspired. Understanding how and why change was slow, in large part due to the industry of returning escaped slaves to their masters, and slaves as property is expressed intimately, without blame. The life story of the protagonist; the slave girl Cora, is one that will stay with the reader for a long time. An excellent story to learn about the history of our country through the lives of interesting, in-depth characters.
Great book if you love historical fiction. Reminded me a lot of Somebody Knows My Name. It was so interesting learning how the Underground Railroad really worked as its workings were never discussed in my Social Studies classes. I listened to this book on audio and sometimes got a little lost because the book moved around in time and occasionally another POV was used. But I blame myself for that… I am new to audio books and I doubt that would have been a problem if I was reading this book or if I wasn’t distracted in traffic. Unfortunately I don’t have a rewind button in my car. FYI, I enjoyed the narrator too. (less)
From the true story, this book is written in plain honest language that packs the most serious of punches.
This book is both a difficult read and an important read to understand where our country was 150 with regards to slavery. It’s hard to fathom the extent of cruelty towards Blacks and slaves until you read this. And still, the characters will transform you and keep you reading. It’s a brilliant piece of writing.