In the story of Cora the Underground Railroad is really and underground railroad. Station masters and conductors and locomotives carry runaway slaves to the north and hoped for freedom.
Along the way Cora is our look into the world of what it looks, smells, tastes, and feels like to be owned. It is often violent, scary, ugly, and painful. Even in that Cora finds tiny moments of beauty that she uses to hold onto when she thinks she can't go on. And all along the way she is reminded of the words of her first station master encounter, "Look outside as you speed through, and you'll find the true face of America."
And that is the lesson if you will of The Underground Railroad. I won't spoil it for you and tell you what she sees. It is the kind of thing you have to experience.
Some of the questions I found myself thinking about were what does it mean to be free? Are there levels of freedom? What motivates people to do what they do, to act as they do, to think and believe what they do? How much is upbringing, how much is what we are born with, how much is when and where we are born and to whom we are born? What is our responsibility to each other and to those who will come after us? And what price should we pay for those who came before and the things they have done?
Thought provoking. Well written. Gripping. Over before I wanted it to be but also not soon enough.
(Finished March 15, 2017)
No comments:
Post a Comment