The Underground Railroad (2016, Little, Brown Book Group Limited)
Lingvo: English
Eldonita je 2-a de majo 2016 de Little, Brown Book Group Limited.
The Underground Railroad is a historical fiction novel by American author Colson Whitehead, published by Doubleday in 2016. The alternate history novel tells the story of Cora and Caesar, two slaves in the southeastern United States during the 19th century, who make a bid for freedom from their Georgia plantation by following the Underground Railroad, which the novel depicts as a rail transport system with safe houses and secret routes. The book was a critical and commercial success, hitting the bestseller lists and winning several literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award for Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. A TV series adaptation written and directed by Barry Jenkins was released in May 2021.
An American epic. Shorter than The Amazing Adventures Kavalier & Clay, but no less successful in creating an original hero.
The passage where they travel through a burned-out version of Tennessee will stay with me for a long time.
I know I am late to the party in reading The Underground Railroad! I wanted to let some of the hype fade in the hope of not being overly influenced and then disappointed. I think my scheme worked - I certainly did enjoy the novel.
I hadn't previously realised the nuances of various American states attitudes and laws concerning slavery and black people's place in society. Whitehead's device of Cora journeying to a number of different states allowed me to see far more than the South=slavery, North=freedom divide that I had imagined from previous Civil War novels I have read. I was impressed by his research and the authenticity of the locations and scenes described. As historifical fiction, The Underground Railroad does a fantastic job of bringing this era of American history to life.
I wasn't convinced at first by the imagining of the Railroad itself as a real railway …
I know I am late to the party in reading The Underground Railroad! I wanted to let some of the hype fade in the hope of not being overly influenced and then disappointed. I think my scheme worked - I certainly did enjoy the novel.
I hadn't previously realised the nuances of various American states attitudes and laws concerning slavery and black people's place in society. Whitehead's device of Cora journeying to a number of different states allowed me to see far more than the South=slavery, North=freedom divide that I had imagined from previous Civil War novels I have read. I was impressed by his research and the authenticity of the locations and scenes described. As historifical fiction, The Underground Railroad does a fantastic job of bringing this era of American history to life.
I wasn't convinced at first by the imagining of the Railroad itself as a real railway network. However as the novel progressed I could appreciate the idea more and felt that it did fit well within the story. My only lasting gripe is that I didn't think Cora was a real a person as she needed to be. Surrounding characters were more strongly defined and, for me, Cora often felt like a shadow or a space than a genuine woman living through these experiences. We are told a lot about her thoughts and aspirations, but I thought the woman herself was kept too distant and aloof.
Overall though, The Underground Railroad was an interesting and very readable novel. It depicts a place and time I thought I knew, but in such a new way that I realised there is still a lot more to learn. Well derserving of its hype!
El títol de la novel·la al·ludeix a la via d’escapament que alguns esclaus de les plantacions del sud dels Estats Units utilitzaven per escapar-se als estats del nord on l’esclavitud havia estat abolida. L’autor, tanmateix, materialitza aquesta via d’escapament en un tren de veritat, amb la infraestructura de vies, locomotora i vagons necessària per funcionar.
La protagonista de la història és una noia nascuda esclava que, a instàncies d’un altre esclau, decideix arriscar-se i fugir de la plantació on l’amo blanc els tenia com a bestiar. Seguim el seu camí d’escapada farcit de neguits i por de ser atrapada per un caçador de fugitius que, si els enxampava, els retornava a l’amo que, de ben segur, els faria la pell.
L’autor ens explica amb tota mena de detalls com era la vida dels esclaus als estats del sud i com canviava quan es podien alliberar. Ens retrata els canvis de …
El títol de la novel·la al·ludeix a la via d’escapament que alguns esclaus de les plantacions del sud dels Estats Units utilitzaven per escapar-se als estats del nord on l’esclavitud havia estat abolida. L’autor, tanmateix, materialitza aquesta via d’escapament en un tren de veritat, amb la infraestructura de vies, locomotora i vagons necessària per funcionar.
La protagonista de la història és una noia nascuda esclava que, a instàncies d’un altre esclau, decideix arriscar-se i fugir de la plantació on l’amo blanc els tenia com a bestiar. Seguim el seu camí d’escapada farcit de neguits i por de ser atrapada per un caçador de fugitius que, si els enxampava, els retornava a l’amo que, de ben segur, els faria la pell.
L’autor ens explica amb tota mena de detalls com era la vida dels esclaus als estats del sud i com canviava quan es podien alliberar. Ens retrata els canvis de caràcter de les persones quan, de sobte, es veien lliures i amb possibilitat d’elegir el seu destí, lluny de la voluntat dels propietaris.
El viatge és llarg i té diferents estacions i parades que es podrien assimilar als nivells de creixement personal de la protagonista. Tot i estar narrat amb un estil àgil, en alguns moments hi ha salts que distreuen del fil del relat. També és fa una mica repetitiu en algun punt, sobretot cap al final, fet que el fa un xic carregós. Amb cent pàgines menys seria una obra excel·lent.
