Review: The Underground Railroad

Title: The Underground Railroad

Author: Colson Whitehead

Date completed: 30 August 2016

While re-imagining the

Underground Railroad as literally underground and some other alternative history elements, Whitehead really captured a wide variety of black life experiences pre-Civil War. He added the human element to the system's horrors we learn about in general terms in school.

Literary fiction is not my usual fair, and "arty" writing not something I typically enjoy. However, the carefully crafted sentences added to the experience and kept me turning the pages. While the ending provided some hope, it was not a happily ever after. It's a good book, an important book, but not a fun book. Worth reading if you care to feel the experiences of the African American struggle through the pages of a book.