Kindred (1979)

Wow. This book draws you in from page one and doesn't loosen it's grip til you get to the epic conclusion. When I first heard the premise for this story, time travel mixed with historical fiction, I instantly thought of the "Outlander" series and I was a little apprehensive. But once I launched into "Kindred" any fears I had about sappy romance were instantly squelched, this is book is gritty, realistic, saddening, and extremely captivating.

The story follows Dana, a young black woman who keeps getting transported back in time from 1976 to the early nineteenth century in order to save her ancestors. Every time Rufus, a slaveholder's son, is in trouble Dana magically appears and has to save the day. Things are very dangerous for Dana she is black and in the south, and as she finds out, her ancestor is a white plantation owner.

Can she keep him safe and save her lineage? How can she get safely back home? All these questions plague Dana's mind and she learns the real brutal truths in history as she keeps getting sent back.

Overall this book is fantastic, it tackles issues such as interracial marriage and slavery, items that are still hot topics today. A great read, I would highly recommend it! ( )

Too boring. Had to put it down. ( )

Review to follow ( )

Shelved as fantasy, rather than SF, because while it deals with time travel, that aspect isn't explained at all. It simply isn't the focus: it's set up enough that the main character can go back in time to that of her ancestor, and forward again to her own time, but there's no explanation of why it starts or how it works. In a way, I do wish there'd been more of that, but ultimately it isn't the important part.

Octavia Butler writes well -- not just interesting writing, but writing that is just easy to read. There's no barrier to enjoying the story: the writing isn't ornate, but it's not too simple, either. Personally, it walked a perfect line, and the voice of Dana -- the narrator -- worked well for me.

The stories alternates between the 1970s -- Dana's time -- and the 1800s, when she had a white, slave-owning ancestor. The co-dependency she has with him, and the way things fall apart at the end, are well-drawn, and the contradictions of liking him somewhat while knowing the kind of man he is... The way she's trapped, forced to play the role of the slave, is a little heart-breaking. Someone else's review talks about wishing Dana were a stronger character, but when you think about the time period she was put into... a different kind of strength was needed then, which to some extent she develops, and some of which is beyond her...

I liked the inclusion of her (white) husband, Kevin. He seems to be a great guy -- not untouched by the world he ends up spending five years being a part of, but fighting it all the time -- and one likes to hope that the two of them manage to be happy after the end of the book. It's a big strain on their relationship, after all.

I'm not sure how articulate I'm really being! In any case, I found it fascinating and definitely recommend it, with the caveats that you have to be okay with the lack of explanation, and with slave narratives. And if you're one of the white people who has read this book and complained about the racism towards white people shown in it, think about it this way: a) however little you like it, it's historically accurate, and b) it's not about you.

Both times I've read a book by Octavia Butler, I want to immediately go out and find the rest. So I expect I'll read some more soon. ( )

I found that the idea to have an african american woman from the 1970's appear in the antebellum south was a really ingenious way to bring together contemporary thinking about slavery and the actualities of living through those times. The contrasts, tensions and the blending that happened were what really made the book for me. ( )