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Writer's pictureHarper Stewart

Underground Railroad (5/5)

Updated: Aug 8, 2020

This was my first time reading a Whitehead novel, and it will most certainly not be my last.



Underground Railroad opens with a brief introduction to the main character- Cora- and then promptly dives into her grandmother's journey to becoming a slave. Far from feeling disjointed, Cora's essence easily nestles into the retelling of her Grandmother's history, and sets a clear tone to the rest of the novel. Whitehead's novel is raw and resigned, perfectly reflecting the disposition of his main protagonist, whom does not hold back in her descriptions of life as a female slave, and even in moments of hope, is time and time again proven that there is no room for Black Americans in the so called "American Dream".


The plot hinges on the decision to escape via the infamous Underground Railroad, which ferried and disguised escaped slaves, the ultimate goal being the gilded North of the United States, where slaves could begin a new life for themselves. Or so it was promised. Through her escape and many run-ins with the Underground Railroad, Cora and the reader learn time and time again that even the fabled Underground Railroad could not promise freedom, for her and others. Although she relies on the help of friends and acquaintances, Cora is constantly confronted by the ugly truth that the only thing she can hold onto is herself and her wits. Her friends, her future, her freedom can all be taken away within the blink of an eye.


The topics discussed- racism, rape, slavery, lynching, abandonment, hopelessness- are intense. Whitehead forces readers to confront these hard truths of slavery, so obvious yet often played down or somehow lessened by an "understanding" white savior (eg. HuckleBerry Finn). Whitehead addresses and allows the reader to sit with these uncomfortable themes through his expert writing, weaving a net that carries the heavy realities experienced by the characters in his novel. It is a book you will sit with, yes, but also race through simply because Whitehead is an expert in his craft, and urges you on every page, every chapter. It is a book that is easy to read and hard to digest, trailing in your thoughts long after you have closed the cover.


Simply "historical fiction" does not do justice to this complex narrative. Underground Railroad to a revolutionary piece of American Literature, one that should be read and upheld right along with the supposed "classics". It is a story that is just as old as novels by Twain and Bronte; it was simply untold and overlooked.





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