When colson whitehead was a child he imagined the underground railroad as a subway beneath the earth that escaped slaves could ride to freedom. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner national book award winner oprahs book club. The basic premise of this novel is that the underground railroad was just that a real physical underground railroad. Coras grandmother had never seen the ocean before that bright afternoon in the port of ouidah and the water dazzled after her time in the forts dungeon. Our book club page for the underground railroad by colson whitehead includes book club discussion questions, author website, book. Michael schaub, npr far and away the most anticipated literary novel of the year, the underground railroad marks a new triumph for whiteheada book that resonates with deep emotional timbre. The underground railroad, by colson whiteheadafter cora, a slave in precivil war georgia, escapes with another slave, caesar, they seek the help of the underground railroad as they flee from state to state and try to evade a slave catcher, ridgeway, who is determined to return them to the south. One of the most obvious themes is that of survival. Colson whiteheads riveting runaway slave story is an eyeopening, brutal, and remarkable study of tensions that pull in opposite directions. Dive into the latest pick for oprahs book club with these questions about colson whiteheads breathtaking novel. The underground railroad by colson whitehead book club.
The novel is an investigation of the steeldriving man of american folklore. In this book, the underground railroad is just that. The underground railroad is an example of a neoslave narrative, a term coined by ishmael reed that refers to a work of literature written in the contemporary era that is set during the slavery era and tells the story from the perspective of enslaved characters. The underground railroad oprahs book club audiobook.
We see that freedom is a perspective that changes with the person and the time. Colson whitehead, the underground railroad youtube. Enjoy a lively discussion of each months book selection. An outcast even among her fellow africans, she is on the cusp of womanhoodwhere greater pain awaits.
It also won the national book award, the andrew carnegie medal for excellence, and was longlisted for the man booker prize. The underground railroad covers five primary periods in the life of cora. The underground railroad by colson whitehead about this guide the questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your. The underground railroad is a pulitzer prize winning novel and new york times best seller. In a surprise announcement tuesday morning, winfrey chose the underground railroad as the next title for oprahs book club. The first time caesar approached cora about running north, she said no. Oprahs book club is back with underground railroad for whitehead, its by far his best showing on usa today s list. Subscribe to the oprahs book club newsletter sign up for the oprah. The underground railroadby colson whitehead doubleday the vancouver suns book club is discussing the underground railroad by colson whitehead, who will be. The book won the 2017 pulitzer prize for fiction and a place on. This book could have been improved with editing it down and sticking more to how slaves really escaped. The underground railroad is an american masterpiece, as much a searing document of a cruel history as a uniquely brilliant work of fiction.
Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for cora. The underground railroad book club kit lawrence public. I think theres no better book for a time such as this, oprah said on cbs this morning. Other examples of neoslave narratives include octavia butlers kindred, toni morrisons beloved, marlon james the book of.
Book club underground railroad osceola library system. The underground railroad, the latest selection of oprah winfreys book club, chronicles the life of a teenage slave named cora, who flees the georgia plantation where she was born, risking. Railroad, the story of a young escaped slave named cora, is his sixth novel. I think theres no better book for a time such as this, oprah said on cbs this morning the novels of.
The novel, although with some qualities just does not do its job. In this mesmerizing reimagining by the awardwinning author of the intuitionist and john henry days, however, the underground railroad is exactly that. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner national book. The underground railroad reanimates the slave narrative. Do you feel that you now have a better understanding of what slavery was like. Where colson whitehead got the idea for the underground. The perilous lure of the underground railroad the new yorker.
The underground railroad by colson whitehead teachers guide. Gail martin and guest irene eskridge discuss the journey and. The underground railroad oprah s book club by colson whitehead, and read by banhi turpin. Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead in an online book club. In its exploration of the foundational sins of america, it is a brave and necessary book. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad is the newest oprahs book club selection. Sign me up to get more news about literary fiction books. Colson whitehead talks about his novel the underground railroad with james naughtie. Download an excerpt of the book, and print a copy of oprahs the underground railroad reading guide and book club questions. The questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of the underground railroad, a triumph of a novel by colson whitehead. Oprah winfrey has tapped colson whiteheads novel the underground railroad as her latest book club pick, it. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphorengineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. She fiercely defends the tiny plot of land she has inherited from her mother who inherited it from coras grandmother, ajarry when other slaves try to take. Looking for the underground railroad book club questions and a reading guide for your next meeting.
This months book club pick is the underground railroad by colson whitehead cora is a young slave on a cotton plantation in georgia. This gives the book a bit of dystopian feel, although this is an antebellum tale, with time appropriate technology. Please put your comments for the underground railroad book club discussion questions in the comment area below discussion questions. He read through slave narratives from the 18th and 19th centuries to get a feel for what life might have been like for cora, a 15yearold slave who had escaped from a georgia plantation. The underground railroad, by contrast, was personal. Dive into the latest pick for oprahs book club with these questions about colson whiteheads. Before we get to the book club questions, lets talk about some prominent themes in the underground railroad. The underground railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one womans. How does the depiction of slavery in the underground railroad compare to other depictions in literature and film. The book emphasizes how slaves were treated as property and reduced to objects. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphor engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. I had little patience with the idea that the underground railroad, as the slave escape network was dubbed, was an actual railroad under the ground. Colson whitehead, youd think, would be used to accolades by now.
Whitehead ismore this is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. The underground railroad audiobook by colson whitehead. The underground railroad book club discussion questions. Watch the clip above to see colson whitehead, author of oprahs book club selection, the underground railroad, explain where the novels premise came. Its conflict arises out of a theft, in this case a historically earlier. Why do you think cora changed her mind and decided to leave with caesar right after that. The underground railroad we the people book club 2 in so many ways the underground railroad. On the one hand, his depictions of slave life are thoroughly grounded in heartbreaking and hardtotake reality. The author of the underground railroad, oprahs new bookclub pick and obamas summer read, talks about making fiction from historys great. Before oprah picked his new novel, the underground railroad, as her next book club.
The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner by colson. How did this aspect of magical realism impact your concept of how the real underground railroad worked. Colson whitehead, author of the underground railroad time. North and south carolina didnt have the political structure described in the book. The underground railroad by colson whitehead hemmys book club genre. Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead. Why do you think the author chose to portray a literal railroad. Books will be available behind the upstairs service desk. But first, whats this book about and why should we read it. The underground railroad colson whitehead, 2016 knopf doubleday 320 pp. Colson whitehead, bahni turpin, random house audio. The underground railroad by colson whitehead hemmys. Cora and caesars first stop is south carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. When coras mother, mabel, runs away, cora becomes a young outcast among the slaves of the randall plantation.