On December 5, Books on Tap met to discuss The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. The consensus of the group was that this was another book that was excellent and well written, but difficult to read. Some of the group had to break it up and read it in sections because it was too overwhelming to read too much at once. In the end, this powerful book sparked a lot of interesting discussion.
Whitehead is the author of nine novels and two works of nonfiction. He is one of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize twice, the first time in 2017 for The Underground Railroad and the second time in 2020 for The Nickel Boys. The Underground Railroad was also awarded the 2016 National Book Award for fiction.
His choice to take the idea of the Underground Railroad and make it an actual, physical railroad underground led to a lot of discussion. It added an element of fantasy and forced the reader to suspend disbelief. One reader saw it as a metaphor for moving forward. Others noted that the idea of having to dig physical tunnels made the journey even harder, emphasizing that moving from South to North was harder than anyone could really imagine. Another reader pointed out that it emphasized the idea of hiding, that they could not see the light of day. Another comment was that being underground could give a sense of safety. One reader pointed out that the images of Cora in the underground stations were very powerful.
An interesting aspect of the physical train was the uncertainty of where you were going. You could take the train in one hour or the one coming in six hours. One might be going to a better place, but you have no way of knowing. It added an element of chance to efforts to escape.
The book sets up an interesting contrast between South Carolina and North Carolina. In South Carolina, conditions seem great with housing, education, and jobs provided. However, it turned out that the kindness was a cover for eugenics projects, a long-term effort to get rid of blacks. North Carolina, on the other hand, was actively trying to get rid of all blacks by killing them outright. This scenario flipped the common cliche of being sold South, with the Deep South being harsher than more Northern areas.
One reader found the situation in South Carolina very believable because the same types of treatment continued well past the Civil War, citing the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that did not end until 1972. Another found the impact of North Carolina’s approach on the white population telling. People turned on each other and would turn neighbors in. It reminded some of Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl with both the constant fear of betrayal and those who risked their lives to hide people.
Cora spends some time at Valentine Farm in Indiana, a refuge for former slaves where she is told she can stay as long as she contributes to the community. But the surrounding community is unhappy that black people on the farm are happy and successful. In the end, the farm is attacked and the people there are massacred. Readers saw this as an example of how when black people get too happy or too successful, whites often feel the need to shut that down and put them in their place.
At least one reader found it hard to finish because of the collateral damage, the way that everyone who helped or did something good was punished in horrific ways. Another found it telling that in the end, Cora gets away on her own, without help from anyone else. Throughout the book, slave catchers are everywhere. Punishment for being caught was unspeakable. Some wondered how someone could find the courage to run. How did they continue on when they learned what happened to others? Another reader wondered how, with all of the trauma, could they ever actually feel free.
One of the most powerful aspects of this book is that the incidents are based on real historical occurrences including a massacre in Wilmington, NC and the common practice of mixing people from different African cultures together so they could not communicate. Even abolitionists did not want to live alongside blacks as equals, but wanted to send them back to Africa. One reader pointed out that this book illustrates the human condition, how human beings suffer, and the propensity of humans to do harm to others.
Other books by Colson Whitehead:
- Zone One
- The Nickel Boys – which has recently been made into a movie
- Harlem Shuffle
- Crook Manifesto
- Sag Harbor
Amazon Prime TV Drama based on the book: The Underground Railroad
Other books mentioned:
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs
- The Lottery, And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
- The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark – being part of a mob; consider your individual responsibility
- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
- The Known World by Edward Jones – about black slave owners; set in antebellum VA
- Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
- Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
- The Price of a Child by Lorene Cary
- The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Slave labor on Virginia’s Blue Ridge Railroad by Mary E. Lyons
Exhibit at the VMFA – Dawoud Bey: Elegy:
Interviews with Colson Whitehead:
Upcoming 2025 Books on Tap selections:
- January: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
- February: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
- March: Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island by Earl Swift
- April: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- May: The Red Pony by John Steinbeck