The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Unlike most readers that seemed to love this book, I could not get into it. The character development and lack of internal monologues, made me feel like I was reading historical facts rather than sweeping me into a good story. Even though the facts were interesting and had the author's own twist - enough to keep me going - I know I'll forget this one in the long haul. Every time I thought the character's arc was becoming interesting, there'd be a jarring narrative by a minor character or when I started to actually get into the story, the plot veered in a direction that was predictable because of a forced showdown with the villain. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Give this a go if you like speculative fiction and history, just don't expect much character development.

Cora is abandoned by her mother on a Georgia cotton plantation where she has to survive on her own. When the owner dies and the twin son takes over the plantation, he tortures, beats, and uses the slaves for his own degenerate entertainment and lusts.  Violence and fear reign, instilling terror in the slaves to deter escapes and keep them oppressed. But Cora can't be subdued. Her early survival training course from when her mom took off has created a strong woman. When another slave approaches Cora about escaping, she puts him off until she feels her life is threatened. The two seek out the underground railroad and the reader discovers it is a real railroad that is literally dug underground. I wondered if the novel was going to be a steampunk fantasy at that point, but the author doesn't head in that direction, instead the railroad is a symbol of blacks fighting for freedoms and their vital contributions to building this country into what it is today.

The next alternate historical account is regarding doctors who are practicing eugenics on unsuspecting black women sterilizing them. When some find out what has happened, they go insane. Irony abounds as Cora gets a job working for a living museum where the only live people or actors are the three black women. They live out history as it is falsely told in some of the scenes. Colson Whitehead is reminding readers with his speculations that an alternate history is relevant today. The reader has to make his or her own connections. As Cora says, the U.S. has "stolen bodies working stolen land." He pounds home the message that the U.S. is not one group of peoples' land. Manifest Destiny was a way for white people to conquer and oppress those in the way. It was not justified. The author points to the Trail of Tears and creates his own horrific Freedom Trail where the bodies of blacks are hung from trees mutilated and tortured mile-after-mile.

The strength of Whitehead's novel is how he shows different versions of the past and how literary or historical narration influences the authenticity of history. When Cora reflects on the Bible and the Hebrew slaves she comments how people got things wrong by "accident" and "on purpose." She's watching a minstrel show as she questions history. The white men dressed up as blacks are mocking her culture and ancestry, trying to change the facts. They lie to create a truth that justifies their inhumane actions. The narration is bent to fit the group that is dominant in the society. To acknowledge blacks are human beings that helped build the country is a narration that will not happen in Cora's lifetime. Later when the blacks form a community or safe-haven in which education, freedom, food, and politics flourish, Cora is forced to see that it is a delusion as it is destroyed by threatened white people in town.

The klunky transitions between chapters were jarring and the third person narration pulled me even more out of the storyline. The bounty hunter was interesting but when he isn't killed in one section of the book it was obvious that he'd show up again. Here the plot is forced and lost steam for me. While I see why many liked the uniqueness through the author's use of speculative fiction, the weak character development left me wanting more.

3 Smileys

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #5) by Nathan Hale

I can't recall a graphic novel series where I've read five books and given them all four or five stars. This guy just nails 'em every time infusing humor with his own creative juices to create a fictional account of history that is loaded with accurate facts. How the heck he takes grizzly information and makes it entertaining is the work of an author that knows his craft. I didn't even realize this book was about Harriet Tubman. I know... black woman on cover with the word, "underground." Duh. Must have been the jet-lag. I miss details on a normal day. Toss in a 20 hour door-to-door trip with a 12 hour time gain and my brain responds like a zapped zapata. Wherever your lightning bolts zap, make sure they hit this winner.

Speaking of messed up neurons, zappings, and lightning, Harriet was a bit scrambled in her brains too after an angry overseer accidentally fast-pitched several pounds of lead into her skull while she was protecting another black man. The injury left her with narcolepsy, a disease where she nods off to sleep. Imagine being on the run with slave-catchers and dogs hunting you, and your guide or abductor falls asleep in the middle of it! Yet, Harriet was one of the most successful abductors and when she did nod off she'd wake up and tell people she had a vision from God and usually it was a warning that danger was ahead.

The author doesn't gloss over the brutalities and continues to use the hangman for comic relief. Different people in history used violence to try and end slavery and they justified killing others to accomplish their means. Nat Turner and John Brown died violently but they did inspire others to seek changes in laws. Hangman reacts to their violence in shock even asking if Nat Turner got knocked on the head with a piece of lead like Harriet. Their suicidal strategy to end slavery is ripe for discussions and can be compared with current events.

Harriet, on the other hand, started her career in rescuing people because she was trying to save her family. Under the ownership of an oppressive white family, she was abused as a young girl and mistreated by other owners. Her amazing ability to not get caught as an abductor, led to her helping other families and at one point she helped Colonel James Montgomery on a raid where 800 families escaped north. The Colonel used more violence with his methods, burning down homes and Harriet shows she wasn't opposed to it. Again, I think the contrast between violent means and the later civil disobedience during the 1960s is interesting. Is there a best way to enact change in societies? How do people get laws changed? If they don't have access, how do they get societies attention? These are just a few questions that electrically discharged in my brain. You could pair this with the picture book, "Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation" by Duncan Tonatiuh. A thunderbolt series.

5 Smileys