"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead

[Paladin]

Extremely well-written account of an adolescent slave girl's flight from the antebellum South. Considerable brutality, serving as a reminder of what a genuinely evil practice slavery was, and how its stain on this country's history still resonates. Worth your time. Currently at no.16 on the NYT Hardcover Best-Seller list.

[japple]

1. Read it. Loved it. Have you read James McBride's book,

The Good Lord Bird? Same time period, some of the same characters, different writing styles, but equally good writing. It was the 1st book I've read by Colson Whitehead. I have read all of James McBrides. My favorites are Song Yet Sung and The Color of Water.

[Paladin]

2. Thanks for the tip on McBride.

His name and the names of those books sound vaguely familiar; I'll check to see if I've read any of his works.

[northoftheborder]

3. Am listening to it now. Excellent. Everyone should read it.

The brutality and evil scourge of slavery physically and mentally was real, part of our history, and it should become required reading in high school.

[Paladin]

4. Nice update on this.

"The Underground Railroad" took the 2016 National Book Award for a fictional work. Very much deserved.

[japple]

5. Amen to that! Very much deserved award. I listened to an excellent interview

with Colson Whitehead on Fresh Air with Teri Gross. Check it out if you get a chance.