Rating: 5/5
Review:
Very, very good
I was very impressed with The Underground Railroad. I expected it to be worthy and rather turgid
so I approached it with some trepidation, but I found it very gripping and
extremely haunting.
The story is of Cora, a slave born on a Georgia
plantation, who escapes. We follow her
journey through different states and get a fascinating (and horrifying) insight
into the different laws and practices prevalent in those places. The novel has slightly dreamlike episodes at
times as Whitehead presents the Underground Railroad as a physical entity, but
is very, very real much of the time.
There are scenes of utter horror here, some of which will
haunt me for a very long time, I suspect, and the monstrous reality of slavery
is unflinchingly depicted. It is all
done in quite plain prose and an almost matter-of-fact tone which made what was
being described all the more real and terrible for me. There is also an ever-present sense of
threat, conveying with chilling quietness the sense that Cora (and many others)
are never safe, no matter how secure their circumstances may seem. The more repellent attitudes of the time are
plain, but we also get a view of the humanity and dignity of those who opposed
them.
This is both an account of the reality of a terrible period
and also a timely reminder of what may
happen when one group of people begins to regard another group as anything less
than their equals in humanity. I think
that this is a book which deserves the praise heaped on it; it is very well written,
readable and insightful and it has some very important things to say. Warmly recommended.
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