The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Reviewed by Jess
📕📗📘📙
Nominated for the Man Booker Prize just last week, I think I'm already putting this one in the top spot after reading it. It's won so many awards and deservedly so. It's always tough to tackle such a horrific subject as the plight of African slaves in America's Southern States but Whitehead manages it excellently, with historic accuracy woven into the fantasy of the Railroad (which wasn't actually a train in real life). The horrors of life for Cora and her fellow slaves are depicted no-holds-barred, and the action is swift and relentless, hurtling towards a conclusion. Cora shows fight, energy and hope and makes you believe in her future. The story also has many parallels to #blacklivesmatter today. My only criticism is the conclusion - literally the last 5 pages- was lacklustre and felt incomplete. Perhaps that was because I could have kept on reading. This book had the power to make me angry, at the past and the present, and make me want to put my hands in to the fight for change to ensure no one in the world ever has to endure this suffering - it's so hard to believe that our fellow man was ever treated this way, and yet this was a reality for so many 💔. An emotional, highly recommended read.
