The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (National Book Award Winner) (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

by Colson Whitehead

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER - "An American masterpiece" (NPR) that chronicles a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385542364
• Release Date: August 2016
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.2" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Reimagining a Life-Saving Reality

Colson Whitehead lays out the brutality of slavery and racism, while kindling the light of hope, as a literal underground railroad transports an escaping slave - a brave and bruised young woman - through multiple states and harrowing experiences that wound but never extinguish her remarkable spirit. The author deftly employs irony and feigned objectivity while taking us deep into the heart of compassion. Do not deny yourself this journey.

I wish I had the two day back that I spent reading this.

The name of the book is misleading. It’s like sci-fi meets lynching. A waste of my time

Interesting, but not amazing

As an avid reader of historical fiction, I was eager to pick up this book. However, once I did pick it up, I struggled to find the enthusiasm to finish it. I was not surprised by anything that happened until past page 100. I also thought Whitehead spent too much time developing certain secondary characters' stories, like the doctor's past life, and not enough time developing significant plot points like the big reveal regarding South Carolina (which, for me, was the first seriously jolting and interesting reveal in the book). And I was a bit jarred by Whitehead's literal interpretation of the Underground Railroad, and his stretching the truth to say that the railroad extended so far South. Overall, though, I am happy to have read a popular book that so many people I know have also read.

Amazing writer

Cannot wait to read more by this author!