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Matthew's Reviews > The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
by
by
Matthew's review
bookshelves: 2017, gr_awards_2016, historical-fiction, audio, library, least-favorite
Nov 01, 2016
bookshelves: 2017, gr_awards_2016, historical-fiction, audio, library, least-favorite
Every year, I have either never heard of the films nominated for the Best Picture Academy award or when I see them, I don’t think the movie is all that great; long drawn out scenes with landscapes, close ups of glowering faces, monotonous dialogue, etc. I know that every movie doesn’t have to be action packed, but forced artsy-ness or movies nominated for content but not quality are frustrating.
The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize this year. I have read other Pulitzer Prize winners and generally I have found them to be just okay. Or, in looking through the list of winners, I have not even heard of them at all. Because of this, Pulitzer Prize and Best Picture Awards are very similar to me. I really am not sure what the ultimate criteria ends up being, but apparently it is not criteria that I would use.
Disclaimer – as you can probably tell already, I did not like this book. That does not mean that I wish to convince you that you should not like it or not read it. It does not mean that if you gave it 5 stars I want to fight about it. All it means is that this book just did not work for me and I cannot tell why it was so great. We can discuss our differences in opinion, but there will be no need to argue!
I am stuck between 1 and 2 stars on this book. If there was a half star option, I would move forward with a 1.5 star rating. By the time I am done typing this review, maybe I will be able to settle on which one I will go with.
I listened to the audiobook. I always have an audiobook going on and this is the first time in a long time that I can remember fighting to maintain interest and pay attention to the story (in fact, I think the last time that happened was with All the Light We Cannot See – another Pulitzer Prize winner). With this being the case, at least one star from 5 has to be removed.
The characters and the story for me were just blah. I have read other stories and books with difficult subject matter about people being oppressed. In those books the characters were charismatic and impassioned. You felt for the characters and their plight. The story is enthralling and you care about what happens and the ultimate outcome of the story. (Some examples of this are The Help, Between Shades of Gray, The Power of One, etc.). With The Underground Railroad the story was fairly flat for me and the characters kind of uninteresting – reading about what they were going through was more like a bland history book than a story meant to entertain and draw emotion. Considering the subject matter, this was rather unfortunate to me. Also, there was lots of time jumping so I was frequently confused about what was happening, to whom, and in what time frame - this probably led to the fight to stay interested. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 3.
The book is called The Underground Railroad. I thought that this was going to be about The Underground Railroad. Instead, the railroad is just a bit part in the main story (view spoiler). I know that an author can name a book anything they want, but this name seemed to point toward a very specific plot point that ended up being minor throughout – and that felt weird to me. The best analogy I can think of is if all the Harry Potter books had his name replaced with “Hogsmeade” in all the titles. While Hogsmeade is a place they go in every book, and sometimes important things happen there, it is hardly the most important location in the book, so why would you put it in the title? With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 2.
(Side note on the "Railroad" itself. Seemed like a bit of Magical-Realism that to me felt forced and out of line with the rest of the book. For me, the author was trying too hard for the literal metaphor.)
I know it probably seems like I am being harsh on this book, but it won awards! It was Oprah’s Book Club pick! The subject matter is in a genre that I have read other captivating books from and was led to believe this one would be right up there with them. My Goodreads friends have consistently been giving it high marks. I was expecting a big payoff! I was expecting to be moved to tears! I was expecting to be first in line when they make this into a movie! But . . . none of this happened. I cannot tell why it won awards. I am not sure why my friends give it high praise. I cannot put this up there with other books I have read with similar subject matter. And, I will not go see this if they make it into a movie. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 1.
So, 1 star . . . that’s it for me. I hope that you enjoyed it, and I don’t discourage others from trying it, but I cannot recommend it or go higher with my rating.
The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize this year. I have read other Pulitzer Prize winners and generally I have found them to be just okay. Or, in looking through the list of winners, I have not even heard of them at all. Because of this, Pulitzer Prize and Best Picture Awards are very similar to me. I really am not sure what the ultimate criteria ends up being, but apparently it is not criteria that I would use.
Disclaimer – as you can probably tell already, I did not like this book. That does not mean that I wish to convince you that you should not like it or not read it. It does not mean that if you gave it 5 stars I want to fight about it. All it means is that this book just did not work for me and I cannot tell why it was so great. We can discuss our differences in opinion, but there will be no need to argue!
I am stuck between 1 and 2 stars on this book. If there was a half star option, I would move forward with a 1.5 star rating. By the time I am done typing this review, maybe I will be able to settle on which one I will go with.
I listened to the audiobook. I always have an audiobook going on and this is the first time in a long time that I can remember fighting to maintain interest and pay attention to the story (in fact, I think the last time that happened was with All the Light We Cannot See – another Pulitzer Prize winner). With this being the case, at least one star from 5 has to be removed.
The characters and the story for me were just blah. I have read other stories and books with difficult subject matter about people being oppressed. In those books the characters were charismatic and impassioned. You felt for the characters and their plight. The story is enthralling and you care about what happens and the ultimate outcome of the story. (Some examples of this are The Help, Between Shades of Gray, The Power of One, etc.). With The Underground Railroad the story was fairly flat for me and the characters kind of uninteresting – reading about what they were going through was more like a bland history book than a story meant to entertain and draw emotion. Considering the subject matter, this was rather unfortunate to me. Also, there was lots of time jumping so I was frequently confused about what was happening, to whom, and in what time frame - this probably led to the fight to stay interested. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 3.
The book is called The Underground Railroad. I thought that this was going to be about The Underground Railroad. Instead, the railroad is just a bit part in the main story (view spoiler). I know that an author can name a book anything they want, but this name seemed to point toward a very specific plot point that ended up being minor throughout – and that felt weird to me. The best analogy I can think of is if all the Harry Potter books had his name replaced with “Hogsmeade” in all the titles. While Hogsmeade is a place they go in every book, and sometimes important things happen there, it is hardly the most important location in the book, so why would you put it in the title? With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 2.
(Side note on the "Railroad" itself. Seemed like a bit of Magical-Realism that to me felt forced and out of line with the rest of the book. For me, the author was trying too hard for the literal metaphor.)
I know it probably seems like I am being harsh on this book, but it won awards! It was Oprah’s Book Club pick! The subject matter is in a genre that I have read other captivating books from and was led to believe this one would be right up there with them. My Goodreads friends have consistently been giving it high marks. I was expecting a big payoff! I was expecting to be moved to tears! I was expecting to be first in line when they make this into a movie! But . . . none of this happened. I cannot tell why it won awards. I am not sure why my friends give it high praise. I cannot put this up there with other books I have read with similar subject matter. And, I will not go see this if they make it into a movie. With this being the case, another star has been removed, bringing us to 1.
So, 1 star . . . that’s it for me. I hope that you enjoyed it, and I don’t discourage others from trying it, but I cannot recommend it or go higher with my rating.
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Reading Progress
November 1, 2016
– Shelved
November 1, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 28, 2017
–
Started Reading
April 28, 2017
– Shelved as:
2017
April 28, 2017
– Shelved as:
gr_awards_2016
April 28, 2017
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
April 28, 2017
– Shelved as:
audio
April 28, 2017
– Shelved as:
library
May 3, 2017
– Shelved as:
least-favorite
May 3, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 174 (174 new)
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Paul
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May 03, 2017 08:28AM
I do tend to read award-winning books but I definitely don't see it as a guarantee I'll love the books in question. I usually find them at least interesting even if I don't find them all that enjoyable. Great review, though, Matthew, as always! :-)
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So many of my friends did not like this that I decided to pass on reading it. I always smile when I come across another fan of The Power of One. :)
Paul wrote: "I do tend to read award-winning books but I definitely don't see it as a guarantee I'll love the books in question. I usually find them at least interesting even if I don't find them all that enjoy..."Thanks Paul - I do try and read the award winners so that I am "In the know", but the payoff is not always there.
Cathrine ☯ wrote: "So many of my friends did not like this that I decided to pass on reading it. I always smile when I come across another fan of The Power of One. :)"The Power of One is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! :)
Glad to hear your friends were with me on this one - I hate to be the only one with an opinion!
Great review Matthew! I give you props for sticking with the entire book. I decided sometime ago to skip this one, haven't thought twice about that decision either.
PorshaJo wrote: "Great review Matthew! I give you props for sticking with the entire book. I decided sometime ago to skip this one, haven't thought twice about that decision either."Thanks PorshaJo! I know that some people DNF, but I try my hardest not to so that I can get the full perspective - and sometimes you find a gem! (Lots of people want to stop The Library at Mount Char halfway through, many of those people sing its praises once it is done). I pity the book that pushes me to DNF!
There is always a certain amount of politics in these awards. This year, it was probably more pronounced than ever. Like your friend, PorshaJo, I scoped out this book enough (inspectional assessment) to see that it was not for me.
Michael wrote: "There is always a certain amount of politics in these awards. This year, it was probably more pronounced than ever. Like your friend, PorshaJo, I scoped out this book enough (inspectional assessmen..."I do think that the Academy Awards is for the Academy and not for the people . . . not sure about the Pulitzer politics
Lately I have noticed that some of the books I read maybe highly praised but end up lacking that human connection and emotional element I need. I was worried that I was just disconnected on my end but I think it might actually be the books, such as this one was for you. Anyways, great review!
*~Lan Lan~* wrote: "Lately I have noticed that some of the books I read maybe highly praised but end up lacking that human connection and emotional element I need. I was worried that I was just disconnected on my end ..."Thanks!
Agreed - but, sometimes I feel guilty at first for not connecting . . . but I just can't force it!
Nice review Matthhew. I haven't read this one (and don't really have a desire to even though it gets good ratings). i am going to read The Power Of One though (and you gave it to me) 😊
Melanie wrote: "Nice review Matthhew. I haven't read this one (and don't really have a desire to even though it gets good ratings). i am going to read The Power Of One though (and you gave it to me) 😊"Yes! Skip this and go right to The Power of One - so glad I sent you that one!
interesting review I have had this book on my top priority to read list for quite a while now ever since I read an article about it in Oprah Magazine however for some reason I keep putting it off and reading other books with similar subject instead I think I kind of dreaded that the story wouldn't be that engaging despite good content now I am feeling even more unsure about trying it when I have so many other good books to read
Star wrote: "interesting review I have had this book on my top priority to read list for quite a while now ever since I read an article about it in Oprah Magazine however for some reason I keep putting it off a..."Sometimes I may not like a book, but I can encourage some people because I think they may like it better than I do. I unfortunately cannot do that here. But, maybe, in this case I will be wrong. If you do decide to try it, I hope I am!
Hollywood likes to vote for itself, which is why La La Land not winning was a shock, not to say Moonlight did not deserve to win instead.http://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/oscar...
Ya, I'm not rushing to read this as I've read some conflicting reviews. Thanks for the honest one, Matthew. As my reading has matured, my go to Oprah list is looking more questionable.
Many have said that the Pulitzer is a "safe" award and if you're interested in literature, the Man Booker or the National Book Award is a better one to follow. I generally concur with that opinion, although I have not yet read Underground Railroad.
Mrs. Danvers wrote: "Many have said that the Pulitzer is a "safe" award and if you're interested in literature, the Man Booker or the National Book Award is a better one to follow. I generally concur with that opinion,..."Seems like People's Choice is often the only "safe" award. But often even those are popularity contests!
Jen wrote: "Ya, I'm not rushing to read this as I've read some conflicting reviews. Thanks for the honest one, Matthew. As my reading has matured, my go to Oprah list is looking more questionable."No problem, Jen! Not always easy to be honest.
Great review Matthew. I own this one and have been side eyeing it for a while. I think I'll hold off on it for a while and probably read it closer to year end.
Here, here! Haven't read it, don't wanna. I'm glad to see my initial feeling about this book is confirmed by your review. Just because it's about an important subject doesn't make it a winner and I tend to shy away from any recommended by ole Oprah anyway. (While she made great strides for women and women of color in particular, that does not make her an arbiter of either good taste or good writing.)
Kelly wrote: "Great review Matthew. I own this one and have been side eyeing it for a while. I think I'll hold off on it for a while and probably read it closer to year end."Thanks, Kelly - hope you enjoy when you finally get to it!
C-shaw wrote: "Here, here! Haven't read it, don't wanna. I'm glad to see my initial feeling about this book is confirmed by your review. Just because it's about an important subject doesn't make it a winner and I..."Oprah's club started when I worked at a bookstore in the 90's and as soon as she said a book was in her club, it flew off the shelf. If I have read any more of them other that The Underground Railroad, it has not been many. I wonder how many of them are really good? Does she read them first or is it a matter of agreement between agents? Scouting reports?
I have picked books for my club that have ended up being duds because I try not to learn to much about them ahead of time. Such is life!
The movie Drive was like that for me. I wasn't interested in this one, but now it's a definite no-go. Thanks!
Belinda wrote: "The movie Drive was like that for me. I wasn't interested in this one, but now it's a definite no-go. Thanks!"Yes - that was the same for Drive for me too - so much hype, so much letdown!
I've got total respect for a low-star review and appreciate your listing of why it did not work for you. I often will bite the bullet and pay full price for a hardback, so knowing that there is magical realism in this and that it was titled a bit off-topic helps me. There are a lot of very optimistic people on GR who seemingly give everything 4 or even 5 stars, but as a reader who is watching her book budget, the not-so glowing reviews on best sellers is much appreciated!
Matthew great review! I really enjoyed this book but I get everything you're saying. I've had notoriously bad luck with the Pulitzer Prize winners myself and I don't know that an Academy Awards season has passed without my screaming "are you serious with this!?" at the television at least twice.I also totally get what you're saying about the disconnect that happens in the narrative. Putting something as horrendous as slavery in a kind of twilight between fantasy and historical fiction is just bloody weird when you think about it. I had similar issues to the ones you had with this to "Life is Beautiful" (and now that I think about it all the awards it won also drove me bonkers). I'm not sure if its because I have trouble seeing things that are so ingrained in my mind as tragic and horrendous real history in a fictional context that also employs humor to tell its story or if I just can't stand the sight of Roberto Benigni (maybe both).
Weirdly I do think the lack of emotion was part of Whiteheads's point though, again, I get why it didn't work for you. I think we're meant to be reading more of an allegorical fable here not a straight up historic fiction. So the characters are more representative of ideas and moral lessons than they are actual people.
As you say hype hurts far more often then it helps. I read this before the hooplah (Whitehead is a local author where I am) and I was obviously better able to have an unbiased reading experience than anyone post Oprah, Pulitzer and general accolades.
I also wonder if this is a case of the audio versus reading experience just being totally different? I'm amazed at how my opinion can change depending on how I'm experiencing the books.
At any rate, excellent review!
LeAnne wrote: "I've got total respect for a low-star review and appreciate your listing of why it did not work for you. I often will bite the bullet and pay full price for a hardback, so knowing that there is mag..."Thanks - no problem! :)
And I like Magic Realism (I believe it was you who responded to my recommendation of Dandelion Wine that you are not a Magical Realism fan). However, in this it was weird, and I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be Magical Realism . . . and as it only occurred in a few small parts . . . it was just odd.
Sara wrote: "Matthew great review! I really enjoyed this book but I get everything you're saying. I've had notoriously bad luck with the Pulitzer Prize winners myself and I don't know that an Academy Awards sea..."Thanks Sara - so awesome you gave so much feedback, especially since our opinions on this book were so different.
It is possible that the narrator for the audio tainted the book for me (I had this happen before with The Light Between Oceans - terrible audio!) But, in the past I have been able to see past the audio and enjoy the story. That was, unfortunately, not the case this time.
What was strangest to me about the story and the way it was presented is that usually when I read stories or see shows about slavery or poor treatment of people due to prejudice there is an urgency - something almost terrifying! In this book, it kinda just felt like Cora was wandering around and sometimes she found good things and sometimes she ran into trouble. No urgency. No suspense. Just - here is how it is. Perhaps she was more of a metaphor for the entirety of Southern slaves at the time and less of an individual (i.e. getting the general feel of things through the eye of the main character who is along for the ride more than a participant). Just a thought.
Sounds as though this might be a two star book from my understanding of ratings: nothing "wrong" with it, but absolutely could not hold my interest. I have used one star only a couple of times, for books I felt had no redeeming value, just trashy behavior, shock value, etc.
Matthew, a very honest and comprehensive review about your perspective on this. I definitely found more to like and appreciate in this than you did, but the emotional removal from the storytelling also didn't work for me in this instance, even though I could see why Whitehead was using this to Sarah's earlier point.For me, a novel that's more of ideas than of narrative has to really REALLY work. If a book has solid storytelling and takes me places mentally, it can push me from 3 to 4 or 4 to 5 stars. But if the ideas are top notch and the storytelling for me is weak? Very rarely would I go above three stars.
I like the somewhat polarized response to this book, as it keeps so many salient points in active discussion, and the subject matter absolutely warrants continued dialogue, engagement, and reckoning with IMO. So thanks for your review, which continues that dialogue very well!!
John wrote: "Sounds as though this might be a two star book from my understanding of ratings: nothing "wrong" with it, but absolutely could not hold my interest. I have used one star only a couple of times, for..."Rarely do I go this low . . . but there a few books that have pushed me this far. I understand your view on the stars, though, and I have seen other interpretations of the star system similar to yours.
In this case, I was hoping for higher, but talked myself out of it while writing the review.
Sam wrote: "Matthew, a very honest and comprehensive review about your perspective on this. I definitely found more to like and appreciate in this than you did, but the emotional removal from the storytelling ..."Thanks Sam! I agree whole-heartedly! I am glad on Goodreads we can all have different opinions and that is okay. I have seen a few fights break out, but generally everyone gets along.
Matthew wrote: "Sara wrote: "Matthew great review! I really enjoyed this book but I get everything you're saying. I've had notoriously bad luck with the Pulitzer Prize winners myself and I don't know that an Acade..."That's a very interesting thought re. Cora's character. Honestly it would make sense that she's intended (in part) to represent the complacency that must have been one of the foundations of slavery. I mean this is something that existed for hundreds of years for a reason! Its all she knows, its her past and present and future no matter where she looks.
Its obviously a new and jarring way to look at slavery, as something that just is happening and part of the world rather than a horrendous evil that needs to be abolished NOW. But those attitudes must have been present when you think about it.
Sara wrote: "That's a very interesting thought re. Cora's character. Honestly it would make sense that she's intended (in part) to represent the complacency that must have been one of the foundations of slavery. I mean this is something that existed for hundreds of years for a reason! Its all she knows, its her past and present and future no matter where she looks.Its obviously a new and jarring way to look at slavery, as something that just is happening and part of the world rather than a horrendous evil that needs to be abolished NOW. But those attitudes must have been present when you think about it. ."
I can see that - almost like the tone is the way it is because it is all they know at the time. There is no urgency because they have yet to wake up the the fact that the treatment is abhorrent. Interesting food for thought!
I love this review Matthew. It's an honest one. I've steered away from this one just because it sounded "meh" There are too many other books for me to read.
There is another one on Goodreads that everyone loves (you have read it) and I liked your review as well. I'm not going there with that one either.
Sometimes people need to go with not only books they enjoy but they feel comfortable reading also
Sarah wrote: "I love this review Matthew. It's an honest one. I've steered away from this one just because it sounded "meh" There are too many other books for me to read.
There is another one on Goodreads that..."
So mysterious the way you talk about the other one - now I wonder which one you are referring to! :)
I agree with you. I was expecting to see more description of the importance & how "Underground Railroads" were used to escape south-to-north. Thanks for your review.
Fred wrote: "I agree with you. I was expecting to see more description of the importance & how "Underground Railroads" were used to escape south-to-north. Thanks for your review."Thanks for reading my review! Did you read Underground Airlines? It is a pretty good alt-history book.
This is precisely how felt. Everyone was making such a big deal about this book--I didn't understand what the appeal was.
I tried to read this in the beginning of the year. I DNFed it because I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters. And that's not good when you can't make me care about your characters.
As they say, all that glitters ain't gold, good honest review Matthew, sprinkled with a dash of unintentional humor in your star rating system. =)
Calis wrote: "I tried to read this in the beginning of the year. I DNFed it because I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters. And that's not good when you can't make me care about your ch..."Hasnain wrote: "This is precisely how felt. Everyone was making such a big deal about this book--I didn't understand what the appeal was."
Seeing this type of response more and more for this book
Great honest review, Matthew 😊
Beverly wrote: "As they say, all that glitters ain't gold, good honest review Matthew, sprinkled with a dash of unintentional humor in your star rating system. =)"Thanks Beverly. Yes, wasn't going for humor, but I am always happy if a review entertains!
Melissa ♥ Dog Lover ♥ wrote: "Great honest review, Matthew 😊"Thanks, Melissa!
Maybe it's the audiobook, I don't know. I tried it too and abandoned the book...I know it gets great reviews, and many times when I don't like the audio I decide to try the "read" book. Not this time...But I loved All the Light We Cannot See :-)
Ioana wrote: "Maybe it's the audiobook, I don't know. I tried it too and abandoned the book...I know it gets great reviews, and many times when I don't like the audio I decide to try the "read" book. Not this ti..."Perhaps - I have encountered bad audio and still enjoyed the book though (The Light Between Oceans, fo example)
It's unlikely that reading this book would meaningfully shift your opinion, but having recently listened to a book and then spending some time with its text, it felt and read much different. Bad prose can be made up for in performance. But perhaps really elegant prose does not seem so when listened to. I can't say one medium results in a better experience, a more entertaining one, if that's what one is hoping for, but I've just learned a 4 star audiobook might be a two star book. Could be the other way too.
