The Underground Railroad: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2017 Paperback – 29 April 2021

For the first 50 or so pages this book seemed like it would be a difficult and uncomfortable book to read. Sometimes American literature seems too self-conscious and feels it needs to prove itself insofar that it does not have the long heritage of many other European countries. This makes American writers come across as impenetrable to me. I was not enthused with this book to begin with but my the time the principle character Cora had escaped the style of writing became much lighter in style and the book was transformed into something hugely compelling and indeed remarkable. If you stick with this novel I think you will be richly rewarded. Whilst the novel does have literary pretensions, the story ultimately becomes an edge-of-the seat page turning thriller. I can understand why some reviewers found the initial chapters difficult but the book evolves into something that is hugely descriptive and with a sense of danger and menace which permeates the novel like nothing else I have ever read. Whilst the whole concept of an actual underground railway is an elaborate twist on the name given to a network dedicated to rescuing escaped slaves, there is a lot of historical research which has gone in to this book as well as references to later incidents such as the notorious Tuskegee Experiment. The book is often uncomfortable and there is an underlying and understandable resentment of the racist nature of America and the battles it's black population had to overcome to assert themselves. This is a novel that does not withhold it's punches yet offers up a mirror to American society today. I would have to say that the novel is like a tapestry where the various elements eventually coalesce and you are taken on a journey which is often fascinating, repellent and rewarding depending upon which chapter you are reading. The villains in the piece are repugnant and menacing. Ridgeway is one of the most believable villains I have encountered in a book. Not all the white characters are bad and it is nice to see that things are so nuanced. The detestable Homer is scary because his motives are never really explained. Not sure why a macabre black boy should work for a slave catcher. I am usually quite negative about American literature. In the past I have been disappointed by writers such as Scot F Fitzgerald who are deemed to represent the "American experience." As a rule, I avoid American writers due to these feelings. Having said this, I would have to say that this book represents exactly how I feel about America. The white characters are especially well drawn in this novel and this appertains to both the liberal characters and racists described within this book. Even those who appear to have good intentions transpire to be misguided.At the end of the day, what sells this book for me is the fact that you want to talk about it and tell everyone how good it is after you have finished it. It really sticks in your mind, If it has a flaw, it is that there is a sense of foreboding throughout the book which makes you rush through the pages. This means that you sometimes miss the beauty in the language. Deemed a "science fiction " novel, this is somewhat of a miscasting as I feel this is a book that everyone needs to read. This would make a terrific film but I would urge anyone who loves books to pick this novel up and give it a try before it hits the big screen. Thoroughly recommended.

Colson Whitehead’s sixth novel, The Underground Railroad, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. By chance I had finished off this book just about a week before and while I enjoyed it, I’m still not sure I would be the first to put it into the same camp of great past Pulitzer winners such as To Kill A Mockingbird, The Old Man and the Sea, or more recently The Road. I will admit that I have not read the other nominees, nor are they near the top of my reading list so maybe it is unfair to judge it so harshly, but I just didn’t find it to be the best book I’ve read this year.It’s a good story and it engages you easily. Cora is a third generation slave in America whose grandmother Ajarri was born free in Africa and brought to America, and whose mother escaped the life of slavery without leaving anything of any value to Cora. Cora is fairly content (or as content as one can be in the situation) with her life on the Randall farm, her part being administered by the less callous brother slave owner but new arrival Caesar lights something within her. After a horrific whipping is administered to Caesar, Cora steps in and takes a beating herself and her attitude and desires spring anew and the question of escaping and breaking out start to tempt her.The Underground Railroad that is spoken of is not the same one that is found in history textbooks; it is what it says it is, a litany of underground train tracks that can be diverted and displaced at the will of the abolitionists, so long as they are not found by the racists and slave-hunters that track the land. Cora takes the train around America and visits different parts of America. While they seem different at first, the same horrors tend to manifest themselves, albeit in different ways.The story reads like a modern-day allegory of the persistent parallels between modern and historical America. The familiarity of parts of the story to the wonderful yet painful Roots, or even the Autobiography of Malcolm X, shows just how little distance America has travelled since the terrible days of slavery and the dangers that regressing back into those ways of thought present are utterly terrifying.DSC_0015It is perhaps the true reason that such high praise has been heaped upon The Underground Railroad that it feels utterly relevant to the modern social climate despite covering a topic 150 years divorced. The fact that Barack Obama included it in his list of summer reading last year alongside H is for Hawk undoubtedly added to the political impact the novel has, but it does remain as a brilliant and stark reminder of the horrors humans have committed upon each other.

as a read it flows well . a little jumpy in places . overall worth the time , in my opinion . cheers

La historia y la calidad del libro 10 de 10

Storia ben scritta e trama avvincente ed emozionante. Segnalo anche che esiste una mini serie tv. Sicuramente ne consiglio l' acquisto e la lettura.

"The Underground Railroad" ist ein fesselndes Buch, das die Leser auf eine bewegende Reise durch die amerikanische Geschichte mitnimmt. Colson Whiteheads Meisterwerk bietet eine einfühlsame Darstellung des Lebens von Sklaven und ihrer verzweifelten Suche nach Freiheit. Mit beeindruckender Sprache und einer packenden Handlung ist dieses Buch ein absolutes Muss für jeden, der sich für historische Romane interessiert.

A very good read - had me enthralled