Matt Quann's Reviews > The Underground Railroad

I rarely get to read books when they are in their acute hype phase, but I decided to put an Audible credit towards critical darling Colson Whitehead's latest novel. A couple drives back and forth across the province and I'm all done with The Underground Railroad and ready to render my verdict.

ALL ABOARD!

The premise is pretty enticing: a reimagining of the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad underground. It's exactly the sort of spin on the slavery narrative that critics will gobble up while having an "elevator pitch" hook that will draw in casual readers. The Underground Railroad also plays a bit loose with history to better achieve Truth rather than historical accuracy. So, this one aims to put story first, and leave the particulars of history to those at mahogany desks cloaked in tweed.

The thing is, I had expected to be enamoured with the book. Instead, while I can objectively appreciate its craft and structure, The Underground Railroad left me a bit lukewarm. I have a tough time putting my finger on exactly what didn't jive for me, but I'll do my best to provide an opinion that will help you decide if you should spend your time traveling on Whitehead's line.

TRAVEL THROUGH ROUGH COUNTRY

In Cora, Whitehead has constructed a believable, endearing, and well-developed character. The Underground Railroad opens in Georgia with the story of Cora's tempestuous upbringing on a plantation and the tenacity that leads to her flight. Though the horrors inflicted upon Cora and her fellow slaves are shocking, this section of the book had me hooked by Cora's character alone. Her refusal to give up in the face of adversity is both compelling and admirable, and never did I feel as if Cora's development was artificial.

By contrast, Whitehead introduces a series of ancillary characters and stories throughout the narrative that are hit and miss. Some of these secondary players, Ridgeway the slave catcher comes to mind, are well-developed enough that I felt as if I understood their motivations, however twisted. Others just seemed like Whitehead needed a break from the main story and didn't really hit home for me. Of course, these interludes are brief and by no means sour the listening/reading experience.

The railroad, I must admit, captured my imagination from the moment it appears on the page. The stations, each of different decoration, manned by a different station master were always exciting stops in the story. This is due in no small part to the almost thriller-like passages where Cora is forced to escape her current lodgings for an unknown destination. For me, these thriller passages varied in their ability to keep me hooked on every word, and never did I feel as if Cora was going to meet her end; however, the threat of some new torture being inflicted on Cora is ever-present.

THERE'LL BE A FEW STOPS ALONG THE WAY...

When Cora spends time in a variety of states, each with their own new horror pulled from history and stitched together, the book sags hard. I felt as if each city and residence was just a stop along the way for Cora to ponder the philosophy of just exactly what was wrong with that state's way of treating black people. Don't get me wrong: each and every one of these locations holds some form of terror, some subtle and some overt, but it just gets a bit stale after a while.

And maybe this is where I lose the thread that pulls along the train of Whitehead fans. I wasn't thrilled when the story went from novel to philosophical pondering. It was different reading Coates' Between the World and Me because I expected that to be a more academic experience, but The Underground Railroad halts and stops on the tracks when Whitehead gets in a pensive mood. I felt like I was being pulled out of the story for a lecture ever once and a while, and it really cut into the stronger aspects of Whitehead's story.

COMING INTO THE STATION

I'd previously read Whitehead's Sag Harbour, and had a ho-hum reaction to that at the time too. There were parts of that book that I really enjoyed too, it's just that there was always something missing that was just out of reach. I know that the philosophical sections didn't do much for me, but I was along for the ride with Cora. Maybe it's just that Whitehead isn't for me.

It's quite possible you'll have a different reaction. After all, a lot of people seem to be all over this book! As for me, I can appreciate the work objectively, but subjectively I wasn't engaged with the story.

SIDE-NOTE: Anyone have any Whitehead books that they absolutely love? I'm not willing to give up on him yet, and I think I'd take one more swing with him before abandoning him entirely.

[Review of Audiobook]