A few years ago I read an entire book before realizing I had already read it. I looked back at my Goodreads read list and realized I had no memory of about half of the books on there. So I built a new habit – (almost) every time I finish a book, I word-vomit my thoughts and emotions into a note on my phone. Sometimes they’re brief, sometimes they’re long-longwinded, sometimes they just ramble…and now I’m putting them here. Please enjoy the madness.
SPOILERS AHEAD…
I loved the story and the almost lack of drama in it. It felt like an easy ride and there was predictability but clearly suspense was not the goal. I think it paints an interesting picture of slavery, especially the fact that slave owners would have children with their slaves and the “impurity” of that. I liked the way he spoke about the difference between the Task and the Quality as if the Task really have the better end of it because they see the world as it is and don’t have to constantly grapple with the push and pull of acting as if they and the world are pure the way the Quality do.
Imbuing Harriet Tubman with supernatural abilities…I don’t know how I feel about that. But I guess in a book about the underground railroad, it was inevitable for her to play a role. I just feel like it undercuts the real-life, ordinary but extraordinary person who risked like she did to do what she did. Yes, he did his best to portray the difficulty of Conduction and the toll it took but…still.
I also like the way it didn’t end by tying absolutely everything into a neat bow. It was told from Hiram’s perspective so it ends with Hiram’s knowledge and the rest of the characters are off living their lives and we don’t get to know it all, which is the way life is.