In observance of MLK day, I listened to Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" over the weekend. It was a good choice. I recognized the cover as it was advertised heavily on a blog I read (can't figure out which one now) back in 2016 when it came out and generated a lot of buzz. I'm seldom one to know what books are "current." From checking around here, I see Plumbean liked it. AuntiePam was reading in in 2019 - I hope it did live up to the hype for her.
I knew from a) history and b) plot summaries that his device of making the "railroad" into an actual subway was magical realism. What I didn't recognize and totally should have was
that as the main character travels states, she also travels in time. There weren't 12 story buildings with passenger elevators in 1812. Each state represented a different way black Americans were (mis)treated throughout time and by societies.
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Reviews complain that the author is heavy-handed in pushing an agenda/lesson, but that's exactly what I read it for. I wanted the different perspective, and it delivered while simultaneously being really interesting. I hesitate to use the word "entertaining" because the horrors of slavery are anything but, but the story line itself was engaging and I didn't feel like I was being preached at. I've spent the day since finishing it mulling over its themes and allegories.
I will add that when I say "read," I mean I listened to the unabridged audiobook version from my library's Libby app (best app ever!). The performance was very good - it added to the story rather than detracting from it. I'd never read anything anymore if it weren't for audiobooks.