Review: ‘The Underground Railroad’

Colson Whitehead reimagines the Underground Railroad - the storied network of people who helped slaves escape in the years prior to the Civil War - as an actual railroad operating in hidden tunnels throughout the South. 'The Underground Railroad,” which is a finalist for the National Book Award and has been selected for Oprah's Book Club, is the story of Cora, a slave from Georgia who escapes and has many an adventure as she rides the train from state to state.

In Whitehead's tale, each state is something of a world unto itself. The author signals what he's up to with a reference to 'Travels into Several Remote Nations” (more commonly known as 'Gulliver's Travels”) late in the book. As Cora attempts to stay ahead of a determined slave catcher, she encounters black people living in a variety of circumstances, some of which are not what they first appear to be.

Whitehead condenses the history of race relations in the United States, bringing myriad injustices to the fore and reminding us that Emancipation was certainly not the end of hardship for African Americans.

Some of the book's most moving passages are short explorations into the lives of secondary characters. The truth of their individual stories, which is frequently far different from what Cora imagines, adds depth to the primary tale.

'The Underground Railroad” is also an adventure story, complete with a vicious villain given to monologuing. Whitehead doesn't shy away from the uglier parts of our shared history, which means that the villain often wins the day. Cora's trip on the Underground Railroad requires her to take the long view, however. Even when things are darkest, she steadfastly pursues the light at the end of the tunnel.

BOOK READING

What: Colson Whitehead reads from 'The Underground Railroad”

Where: The Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday ► , November 2 ◄

Cost: Free