New York : Anchor Books, 2018.
1st Anchor Bks. ed.
313 p. ; 21 cm.
This was supposed to be Spring Break week, and instead it has turned into the start of an extended period of school closings and home isolation for weeks (no one knows how many) as the Covid-19 pandemic picks up the pace of its global onslaught here in the US.
I am so glad that one of the novels I brought home with me for the break was Whitehead's The Underground Railroad. The novel was published to huge acclaim - winning the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and I heard it described as a fantastical tale of historical fiction where the figurative Underground Railroad is turned into an actual subterranean working railroad. I was a bit skeptical - but - wow! - if you haven't read this novel, it is a must read.
Whitehead has also won one of those MacArthur "genius" grants and all I can say is "Yes!" and admire the foundation for recognizing him way back in 2002 when he had only written two novels. He writing is a thing of wonder. He manages to do so many things right in such a complicated and yet accessible way. He can create history that never was in order to make the history that was come alive in eerie and unsettling ways. He made me mull over the (literally) tortured history of this country and the nature of human cruelty and courage in ways that go right to the heart.
Yes, Whitehead's Underground Railroad has real tunnels, tracks and locomotives - but you never for a moment doubt it. And his narratives of enslaved life and the escape narrative will have your heart racing as you turn the pages rooting for the heroes of the novel.
It is such a thrill to read a writer's work when they are in their prime and to know that you are reading someone whose works will be read and admired long after you are gone. It is a thrill and an honor.
Can you tell I loved this novel? Recommend it. Read it. Sit with it and let it work its magic on you. You won't be disappointed.
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