Throughout her journey to freedom, cora and the other characters reflect on the character and workings of america. The underground railroad is about a young slave who tries to escape and it is oprahs latest book club pic. The underground railroad is probably as straightahead as you could get. Slave narratives described the horrors of plantation life and the rigors of the journey north to. Jan 30, 2018 in whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphor engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. Stunned out of a gloomy kind of complacency about her situation by a brutal beating, cora accepts the invitation of another slave, caesar, to escape with him. On august 1, 1834, 800,000 enslaved africans in the british. It goes beyond a mere summary in 65 pages i found what i wanted and more. The underground railroad was a critical and commercial success, hitting the best seller lists and winning several notable prizes. About this guide the questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups. Aug 02, 2016 colson whiteheads the underground railroad is the newest oprahs book club selection.
New novel takes the underground railroad beyond the. It is an uneven book, with marvelous passages and unmarvelous ones. Please put your comments for the underground railroad book club discussion questions in the comment area below. The underground railroad by colson whitehead book club. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad tells the story of cora, who like so many slaves before her, runs toward freedom. The underground railroad book club kit lawrence public. You even reprinted actual classified ads for fugitive slaves. The underground railroad is not, in whiteheads novel, the secret network of passageways and safe houses used by runaway slaves to.
The underground railroad, by contrast, was personal. Aug 02, 2016 download an excerpt of the book, and print a copy of oprahs the underground railroad reading guide and book club questions. In a surprise announcement tuesday morning, winfrey chose the underground railroad as. Jan 23, 2017 discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead in an online book club. With the underground railroad, whitehead has given the story of an. Discover the main features of emancipation day celebrations, learn about the people of african ancestrys struggle for freedom, and the victories achieved in the push for equality into the 21st century. I began reading with high expectations colson whiteheads novel was not only recommended by oprah a book club selection and obama, it had won the national book award for fiction as well. The underground railroad, by colson whiteheadafter cora, a slave in precivil war georgia, escapes with another slave, caesar, they seek the help of the underground railroad as they flee from state to state and try to evade a slave catcher, ridgeway, who is determined to return them to the south. To ask other readers questions about 419, please sign up. The underground railroad teaching guide scholastic. The basic premise of this novel is that the underground railroad was just that a real physical underground railroad. Escape from slavery online activity presents an accurate and personal view of the brutal practice of slavery, a concept that may be difficult for young students. Dive into the latest pick for oprahs book club with these questions about colson whiteheads breathtaking novel.
I would hope that most people would know that the underground railroad was a series of stops that slaves made while people put their life on the line for a cause they believed in to help them achieve freedom. Colson whitehead on the underground railroad, the book that. Recommending new books each month to spark lively conversation. The underground railroad recipe ideas for book clubs. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for cora. In a helicopter above the barrenlands of the subarctic, in a canoe with his four yearold son, aboard seaplanes and along the underground railroad, wills. The underground railroad, published in 2016, is the sixth novel by american author colson whitehead the alternate history novel tells the story of cora and caesar, two slaves in the southeastern united states during the 19th century, who make a bid for freedom from their georgia plantations by following the underground railroad, which the novel depicts as primarily a rail transport system in. The underground railroad book chicago public library. Colson whitehead on slavery, success and writing the novel. Were on our sixth book of the pod, and our second guest overall. The oprah book club page on goodreads will encourage book discussion and sharing. Do you feel that you now have a better understanding of what slavery was like. Aug 27, 2016 colson whitehead knopf doubledayerin patrice obrien why colson whitehead made the underground railroad real.
The mystery guest that has been hyped for the last few episodes is finally here. Whitehead has written eight books and was a pulitzer prize finalist. This novel, the underground railroad, is touched with greatness. I actually read it for my book club and am anxious to compare notes. Aug 14, 2016 the central conceit of the novel is as simple as it is bold. Clarke award and the 2017 andrew carnegie medal for excellence. In colson whiteheads latest, the underground railroad is. This gives the book a bit of dystopian feel, although this is an antebellum tale, with time appropriate technology. Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead. Cora and caesars first stop is south carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. Aug 02, 2016 oprahs book club has tapped colson whiteheads the underground railroad as its newest selection.
This teaching guide supports the underground railroad. Its fanciful and childish, but it also had many possibilities salon talks to the. About this book cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in georgia. Our book club page for the underground railroad by colson whitehead includes book club discussion questions, author website, book. The underground railroad is a best book group book for discussion, a gripping tale of an african womans will to escape the horrors of slavery in the american south. Underground railroadteen nonfiction, united states history. The newest oprah book club 2016 selection from prizewinning, bestselling author colson. Our discussion of colson whiteheads the underground railroad begins tomorrow. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of anchor books. An outcast even among her fellow africans, she is on the cusp of womanhoodwhere greater pain awaits. Questions within each theme facilitate 1 your interpretation of the text, 2 your personal. As readers complete their journey through the underground railroad, they can engage online at the.
Nov 18, 2016 colson whiteheads underground railroad is a literal train to freedom whitehead was recently awarded the national book award for his novel about a young slave who has escaped a georgia. But first, whats this book about and why should we read it. This book helped me better understand the use of fact and fiction in the underground railroad by colson whitehead. The underground railroad by colson whitehead about this guide the questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your.
North and south carolina didnt have the political structure described in the book. The underground railroad by colson whitehead, paperback. Aug 06, 2016 new novel takes the underground railroad beyond the metaphor nprs scott simon speaks with colson whitehead about his new book, the underground railroad, in which slaves ride a a real railroad. Mar 27, 2017 moonlight director barry jenkins will write and direct a onehour drama series about the underground railroad currently in development at amazon, variety has learned. How did this aspect of magical realism impact your concept of how the real underground railroad worked. Why colson whitehead made the underground railroad. Published in 2016 by awardwinning american author, colson whitehead, the underground railroad is a gripping account of a runaway slave, cora, as she makes her way through a fictionalized american landscape. Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead in an online book club. Books2buy book clubs epl gala exploring reconciliation series. The underground railroad, as her next book club selection, hed.
The author of the underground railroad, oprahs new book club pick and obamas summer read, talks about making fiction from historys great atrocity. Download an excerpt of the book, and print a copy of oprahs the underground railroad reading guide and book club questions. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad in his ambitious new novel, now an oprah book club pick, the author takes on the topic of slaveryand its tangled legacy. Nominated as one of americas bestloved novels by pbss the great american read it is a time of calamity in a major metropolitan citys department of elevator inspectors, and lila mae watson, the first.
Leaving aside its selection for oprah winfreys highly influential book club, what has made the underground railroad remarkable and notable is what happens at the end of this chapter. Beauty tips from moose jaw by will ferguson penguin random. One of my book clubs unanimously selected the underground railroad for our latest meeting, and i was really excited. Whiteheads sixth novel, the story of a teenage slaves bid for freedom in 1850s georgia, is out. In this telling, however, the underground railroad is not a. Colson whiteheads spectacular new novel,the underground railroad, is inspired by reallife eventsbut its a feat of imagination. And so when caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from virginia, urges. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad has been a runaway success. It tells the gripping story of a female slave on a heroic quest to escape captivity. It also won the national book award, the andrew carnegie medal for excellence, and was longlisted for the man booker prize. In nigeria, its a huge underground business, employing thousands. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. The author talks about racism, writing and barry jenkins directing the television series based on his novel. He received a macarthur fellowship, a guggenheim fellowship, a whiting writers award, the dos passos prize, and a fellowship at the cullman center for scholars and writers.
Colson whiteheads the underground railroad is the newest oprahs book club selection. The treasure, of course, was the underground railroad some might call freedom the dearest currency of all. The underground railroad by colson whitehead waterstones. The book, originally slated for a september release, was rushed to printers earlier this month after oprah announced the novel as her latest book club pick. Students will travel back to the year 1860 and follow a young. Sign me up to get more news about literary fiction books. Buy the underground railroad by colson whitehead from waterstones today. Today is the day for our second book club discussion. Book club underground railroad osceola library system. Cora constructs elaborate daydreams about her life as a free woman and dedicates herself to reading and expanding her education. Colson whitehead on slavery, success and writing the. Reading guide for the underground railroad by colson whitehead. Extremely powerful, extremely gutting, and extremely relevant.
The underground railroad by colson whitehead teachers guide. On the one hand, his depictions of slave life are thoroughly grounded in heartbreaking and hardtotake reality. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphorengineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. Colson whitehead, author of the underground railroad time. Dont forget to print your list of official oprahs book club selections and mark the ones youve completed. The underground railroad colson whitehead, 2016 knopf doubleday 320 pp.
The book won the 2017 pulitzer prize for fiction and a place on. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner national. The underground railroad reading guide the fetzer institute. We see that freedom is a perspective that changes with the person and the time. The book emphasizes how slaves were treated as property and reduced to objects.
Its an excellent book club pick three years after publication, and will continue to be so. The underground railroad is a pulitzer prize winning novel and new york times best seller. The questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of the underground railroad, a triumph of a novel by colson whitehead. The farm of benjamin waterhouse he used a tunnel from the southern manse style house to a smokehouse for pickups acted as station agent on the final leg, ferrying slaves hidden in hay wagons on. The underground railroad we the people book club 4. It is an excellent book though once you get passed the fictionalized ways whitehead changes history. Does the underground railroad change the way you look at the history of america, especially in the time of slavery and abolitionism. The underground railroad, the latest selection of oprah winfreys book club, chronicles the life of a teenage slave named cora, who flees the georgia plantation where she was born, risking. The book picked for this month was the underground railroad by colson whitehead. I think theres no better book for a time such as this, oprah said on cbs this morning the novels of. This of course is an oprah book club selection but it has also made many yearend best book s of the year honors. Feb 22, 2017 today is the day for our second book club discussion.
Aug 02, 2016 nobody could wait for colson whiteheads new book including oprah, so here it is, a month early. It delves into literary aspects and is well written. Moonlight director to write, direct underground railroad. Thanks, jenny, and thanks tomore i came here to find out if anyone else had asked about this, and hadnt even remembered the reference to sybils brand. In a surprise announcement tuesday morning, winfrey chose the underground railroad as the next title for oprahs book club. Aug 12, 2016 in his book the underground railroad author colson whitehead supposes that the railroad was a literal train that ran underground. Whitehead is more this is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. This debut novel by the pulitzerprize winning author of the underground railroad wowed critics and readers everywhere and marked the debut of an important american writer. As cora charts her own path the underground railroad reminds us that her story can be. The underground railroad book club discussion gbcn. There are also ponderous rhetorical questions, including the one that begins the. Did you know that the town of valentine indiana in lagrange county was a few miles south of a place where the actual underground railroad operated. Join the discussion of the underground railroad by.
Colson whiteheads riveting runaway slave story is an eyeopening, brutal, and remarkable study of tensions that pull in opposite directions. Torture them as much as you can when they are on this earth, then take away the hope that one day their people will have it better. The underground railroad book club discussion questions. Part of the we the people book club, a yearlong program contemplating. Colson whitehead was born in new york city, new york. Looking for the underground railroad book club questions and a reading guide for your next meeting. Study flashcards on 75 history questions on the underground railroad at. Enjoy a lively discussion of each months book selection. What role do you think stories play for cora and other travelers using the underground railroad. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphor engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. It won the 2017 pulitzer prize for fiction, the 2016 national book award for fiction, the arthur c. The book club click to join in the discussion about this months book. This is a thorough, near exhaustive explication, of the underground railroad. Why do you think the author chose to portray a literal railroad.