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The Underground Railroad
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
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The Underground Railroad
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Summary
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2017
National Book Award Winner 2016
Amazon.Com Number One Book of the Year 2016
Number One New York Times Best Seller
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans, and she is approaching womanhood, where it is clear even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North.
In Whitehead's razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South, the Underground Railroad has assumed a physical form: a dilapidated boxcar pulled along subterranean tracks by a steam locomotive, picking up fugitives wherever it can. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But its placid surface masks an infernal scheme designed for its unknowing black inhabitants. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher sent to find Cora, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom. At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world.
As Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America, from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once the story of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shatteringly powerful meditation on history.
2016, National Book Awards, Winner
2017, Books Are My Bag Readers Awards novel category, Winner
2017, Arthur C. Clarke Award, Short-listed
2017, Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, Long-listed
2018, International Dublin Literary Award, Nominated
2017, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, Short-listed
2017, The Man Booker Prize, Long-listed
2017, Pulitzer Price for Fiction, Winner
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hoops
- 02-06-20
Superb and challenging storytelling
I was both desperate and disappointed to complete this audiobook. It was hard to tear myself away from this enthralling story, I just had to know what was going to happen next. And then, when I reached the end, what can I possibly listen to next that will match this literary masterpiece? As you follow this story (as a white privileged listener) you cannot fail to be struck by the horrors and sheer cruelty of slavery and white supremacy. As I watch the news, with the death of another young black man at the hands of white American police, you have to wonder how much has really changed. Some progress yes, but still so far to go. I'm also struck by the dignity consistently portayed by the main character and those who fight injustice. The narration is excellent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dohm64
- 10-01-21
Aggressively Sad, Beautiful & Painful
The horrors of slavery and anti-Blackness have never been more painfully and poetically described.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RoMay
- 21-09-22
Goosebumps
Anger and sadness when listening to this but yet a very important part of African Americans gruesome past.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Antonio Konitsiotis
- 03-02-17
Powerful storytelling
incredible acting and an amazing and heart wrenching story means this is a must. Especially poignant with the rampant bigotry and racism some factions of politics want to spread in the world.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lorraine
- 31-05-18
Brilliant
Thought provoking, well written and beautifully read. A journey of emotions. Worth reading. Great story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen reid
- 01-03-21
Fabulous story
I was absolutely riveted to this story and how the cruelty of man against his fellow human is harrowing all in the pursuit of money.. There are many victims in this story and like nowadays the pursuit of money and power keeps individuals shackled to their own chains be that of race, colour ,class ....
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 23-11-22
Deeply affecting
I've known about slavery in the American South all my life, but never engaged emotionally until listening to this book on Audible.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Davies
- 21-09-17
Excellent reading of unforgettable book
This is a very powerful story that was read with great intensity and clarity. Thanks
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Suzy
- 02-11-16
Disappointingly & underwhelming slave tale
I wanted to love this but I couldn't. The premise of the story is set in the southern US slave states and the life of Cora who runs away from slavery. I enjoyed some of the plantation descriptions which detail her life and little touches like her trying to keep a small patch of land to grow vegetables. But overall I felt her character didn't really grow and develop. It was a slow, boring listen once she had run and, at times, I didn't understand what was happening. It definitely has potential with some well written passages and a subtlety that hints at some of the worse aspects -like how doctors see the women to stop them reproducing, but it just lacks forward movement. I don't want lots of action and adventure but this was lots of the same thing over and over. Sadly I can't recommend.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lauren Hayhurst
- 01-10-18
Powerful, enlightening, moving
Powerful, enlightening, moving... Fully immersive story, characters are compelling, attention to historic detail is impressive, loved it.
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