The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) 2016, (Random House Audio, Bahni Turpin – Narrator)- In 40 words or less: Cora’s self-sufficiency makes her an outcast among the slaves on the Georgia plantation. When Caesar, another slave, prevails on her to escape with him, Cora’s journey to find a free future and reclaim her past begins.
- Genre: Literary fiction
- Locale: Georgia and north
- Time: Approximately 1840’s
- Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, Colson Whitehead uses magical realism and time-shifting to supplement the realistic and inhumane treatment of so many. Juxtaposing the attitudes of the slaveholders and those that maintained the railroad is fascinating. The villainy of the slave-catchers and the complacency of those standing by paints a portrait of the pre-Civil War US.
It took me far too long to make Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad my own. Two years ago, Whitehead spoke at the BookExpo America Book & Author Breakfast, attended by the book trade, librarians, and bloggers or book group leaders like me. He is a charismatic speaker and it was clear that this book would make waves.
Several times a year, Dan and I head out on an extended road trip. This July’s was the most ambitious. We headed from the Washington, DC area to Hilton Head, SC, via Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It seemed fitting to choose The Underground Railroad as our audiobook since the characters Whitehead created traversed much of the same terrain.
Cora, the central character of the novel, is young and alone after her mother escapes the Georgia plantation and is never heard from again. All she is left by her mother is a tiny patch of land in front of their shack where Cora plants yams, supplementing her food supply and marking her independence. Cora is deeply hurt and angry that her mother has neither sent for her nor been in touch, though she clearly wasn’t captured and returned as a runaway. Very smart, Cora knows how to read and hides this knowledge since it could endanger her. She has only one friend and rebuffs efforts advances by any man, understanding that she is safer on her own.
Caesar, another slave on the plantation, has observed Cora and recognizes that her self-sufficiency and intellect would make his chance of escaping the plantation more likely. After several efforts, the two of them take off, heading to the underground railroad. Whitehead’s railroad is the literal conveyance that often comes to mind among those that are just learning about the period. There is a network of conductors, secretly assisting runaways on their journeys.
As Cora and Caesar travel from state to state, Whitehead creates different milieus that challenge their move to freedom. In each locale, the response of the residents to those seeking freedom is completely different as well. Whitehead’s descriptions draw the reader in and convey the terrifying situations that interactions with the residents and the terrain demand.
As I mentioned at the top, this was the audiobook we listened to as we made a big loop through many states that were on the real Underground Railroad. Looking out the window as the story unfolded, I gave more thought to the difficulty in traversing rivers, often with slave-catchers in pursuit and few swimming skills. I imagined the darkness and the dangers from run-ins with animals, trying to forage for food, and wondering if the one farm nearby was shelter or danger. The narrator, Bahni Turpin, gave distinctive voices to all the characters and created a picture that made the hours seem like minutes. While I should have moved this great novel to the top of the pile much sooner, I am grateful I waited. The combination of the book and the journey made this an experience I won’t soon forget.
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