Review of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

*The Underground Railroad* by Colson Whitehead (2016). Published by Doubleday.

In the past two weeks of writing this, I’ve been going through a bit of a Colson Whitehead phase.

For so many years I’ve been meaning to sit down with his work, and have been telling myself that I’m going to read it in the next month, but because my TBR lists are so long and always get shuffled around, I’ve never had the chance to get to his books.

What finally inspired me was when I picked up a copy of The Underground Railroad when I was at my local Savers, a thrift store chain that’s prominent around here.

I ended up taking my copy to Los Angeles with me, as I needed something to read for the flight. I got through all of the book when we were jet lagged in our hotel room, and we were only there for four full days.

I ended up checking a copy of The Nickel Boys on Libby right after, while doing my final essays, continuing my little saga of Whitehead’s books.

Let’s get into the review, shall we?

The story of a formerly enslaved woman who’s running away on the Underground Railroad.

This is a book that switches perspectives throughout the course of its story, but the one we’re anchored to the most is a woman named Cora.

She’s enslaved on a plantation in Georgia, and she lives without her mother and resents her for the fact her mother never came back for her.

We learn the truth of this later on in the novel (her mother tried to come back for her daughter, but was bit by a snake and couldn’t make it back before passing), but Cora carries this within her.

Another enslaved man, Caesar, comes up to Cora one day and tells her about his plans to flee, leaving behind their lives on the plantation to go and be free in the North.

When they do get out of there, they have to navigate the world without running into slave catchers, who get ahold of one of Cora’s friends, and Cora has to kill a young boy in order to keep going anonymously. The death of that boy also means a death sentence for the two if them are caught, as before she could plead her case.

Eventually, with the help of another, they come across the Underground Railroad, which is a train system that transports runaways like them to the North. The next stop is South Carolina, and the slave catcher Ridgeway is now looking for them specifically.

The two bunker down in South Carolina under different names, but they procrastinate leaving town because South Carolina is increasingly employing former slaves and giving them opportunities. But when Cora learns that the state is sterilizing Black women and using Black men as testing experiments, it’s time to move on.

Ridgeway finds them, though, and Cora flees by herself. Caesar is killed by a mob after being caught by Ridgeway, leaving her alone on the journey for now. The next stop is North Carolina, which has abolished slavery, but the government still executes runaway slaves.

A man named Martin takes her in, hiding her in the attic, and his wife and he take care of her. But when Ridgeway discovers her whereabouts, both Martin and his wife are killed for their actions.

With Cora in his grasp, Ridgeway takes her back down South. When in Tennessee to drop off another slave, a group attacks them, and Cora is freed yet again.

She travels to Indiana, where she lives on a farm owned by a Black man, and is employed there with many other freed slaves. Another man there, Royal, also shows romantic interest in her.

However, the peace is ruined when other freedmen burn down the farm and kill a lot of people, including Royal. Ridgeway finds Cora yet again, but when they’re at a rail station, she pushes him down the steps and injures him. Cora runs away, then hops onto a wagon out West with the help of the Black drivers.

Overall Thoughts

I regret putting off Whitehead’s work for this long after reading The Underground Railroad—such an interesting form of storytelling by weaving in the different perspectives, and we get a broader picture beyond just Cora’s experience.

I am glad though that I read this a bit older, and having studied the American South during the period in graduate school a bit more in-depth, as I was able to appreciate the finer details in this novel because of that I feel.

All in all, pick this one up if you haven’t already!

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