WHITEHEAD, COLSON
It has invaded both my sleeping and waking thoughts. Each character feels alive with a singular humanity . Whitehead is on a roll, the reviews have been sublime. Bim Adewunmi. Guardian. An engrossing and harrowing novel. Sunday Times; brutal, vital, devastating novel. This is a luminous, furious, wildly inventive tale that not only shines a bright light on one of the darkest periods of history, but also opens up thrilling new vistas for the form of the novel itsel. Alex Preston(Observer): This thrilling tale of escape from a deep south plantation takes in terror, beauty and the history of human tragedy. This uncanny novel never attempts to deliver a message, instead it tells one of the most compelling stories I have ever read. Cora's strong, graceful hands touch on the greatest tragedies of our histor. Cynthia Bond, Guardian; It's so good it's hard to praise it without whipping out the cliches: it's an elegant, devastating powerhouse of a book, following a young black woman all over America as she tries to escape the horrors of slavery. When it was published with Oprah's imprimatur, in August, it was universally acclaimed. It deserved it. Michelle Dean: Guardian, One of the best, if not the best, book I've read this year. Whitehead never exploits his subject matter, and in fact it's the sparseness of the novel that makes it such a punch in the gut. Sarah Shaffi (Stylist): My book of the year by some distance. It's a profound and important novel, but more than anything it's an absurdly good read, gripping you in its tightly wound plot, astonishing you with its leaps of imagination. If Whitehead doesn't win every prize going next year, I'll appear on Saturday Review in my underpants. Alex Preston (Observer): Best Fiction of 2016, Whitehead is superb storyteller. He brilliantly intertwines his allegory with history writing at the peak of his game. Whitehead's achievement is truly remarkable: by giving the Underground Railroad a new mythology, he has found a way of confronting other myths, older and persistent, about the United States.His book cannot have enough readers, Telegraph, It is an extraordinary novel, a rich, confident work that will deservedly win - on the basis of literary merit as well as moral purpose . History and human experience as well as an artist's obligation to tell the truth have shaped a virtuoso novel that should be read by every American as well as readers across the world. And it will be, it should be Eileen Battersby (Irish Times) An utterly transporting piece of storytelling. Alex Heminsley (he Pool) Bestselling author Colson Whitehead's novel is a searing indictment of slavery with a detailed inventory of man's inhumanity to man and Cora's flight is a harrowing and shocking trip for the reader. Daily Mail - A stunning, brutal and hugely imaginative book. It's a favourite of both Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama. It is painful history re-imagined in a powerful and brilliant way. Emerald St - Recommended by none other than Obama AND Oprah, The Underground Railroad arrives deserving every last drop of hype that's come its way. There are many twists and turns in Cora's long, treacherous journey towards freedom and while. The Underground Railroad is at times brutal and disturbing, it's also hopeful and an addictive, compulsive read. After reading it, a corner of your heart will always belong to Cora. An instant classic. Sarra Manning- Red.
