Author: Colson Whitehead
Pages: 313
Format: Paperback
Published: August 2, 2016
Publisher: Vintage
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: February 9, 2025
My rating: 
Thoughts
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that I am a white man. I recognize that my reading and interpretation of this book are influenced by my background, which may limit my understanding of the complexities of Cora’s experiences. I strive to broaden my perspective by engaging with the works of Colson Whitehead, Toni Morrison, Isabel Wilkerson, and other Black authors. My goal is not to seek praise, but to genuinely learn and grow through these readings.
You can usually tell how a book is going to read if it won the Pulitzer as this one did. Basically, it’s going to be heavy and probably a little tough to get through. This book is no different. It is clear that Colson Whitehead was blessed with the gift of writing. But sometimes I don’t want a lot of flowery language or metaphor slowing me down.
The format of the book was interesting although I do feel it got a little in the way of the main story. It’s broken up between telling Cora’s story of escape and migration north and other vignettes focusing on a specific character. As for the vignettes, they were of course well-written and were fine short stories in their own right. But did they really belong here? All the characters, from Ridgeway to Caesar and others, were featured in various ways throughout Cora’s story. But they didn’t always add much to Cora’s story, which is what I wanted to read about.
As for Cora’s story, I have to say I was a bit frustrated. Her story started strong with her time in Georgia on the plantation. The scenes were rough, as I’m sure life was. I was most fascinated by her hesitation to escape, thinking maybe her mother would come back to the plantation. By the time she decided to go with Caesar, I was ready to follow her on her journey to freedom. Her escape with Caesar was exciting (and a bit sad at one particular point) and when she got to the first station of the Underground Railroad, I couldn’t wait to see where she ended up.
And then from there the book really fell flat for me. Her experiences on the actual train were kind of boring. I was really hoping she would get more interaction with fellow passengers and maybe getting vignettes of their experiences. But very little of the book actually took place on, around, or even in reference to the Underground Railroad. I really thought it would feature more prominently than it did.
And then her time in various places were just plain forgettable. Mostly because once she moved past those experiences, they weren’t really referenced again.
By the end I understood the message of the book being that her journey to freedom will never truly be over. In fact, just because she left the South doesn’t mean she won’t continue to have to fight for liberation. I don’t really know what I was expecting. How could she escape and then live happily ever after when she’ll always be on the run and in a time in America that sold her as property because of the color of her skin.
In the end, I just couldn’t give this any more than 3 out of 5 stars. I think I’ll watch the show on Amazon at some point. Perhaps that will give me a different perspective and help me appreciate the book more.
