Kindred

This was not what I expected at all.

I wanted to read an Octavia Butler book and checked out a random one from my library. This book highlights the mixed feelings racism brings between black and white people. The main characters seemed to hate and love each other because they like each other's company but Rufus can't seem to help to do anything besides hurt the black people around him. I think he wants to do the right thing but never emotionally matured enough and didnt have enough backbone to stand up to societial norms.

An amazing read that I highly recommend. I would never have picked this book myself, but it was recommended and I picked up this time travel sci-fi book one night, thinking it would help put me to sleep. Four hours later, I had to force myself to put the book down. I will never forget this story. This book places you square in the middle of Antebellum South inside the skin of a modern day (by way of the 1970s) black woman trying to survive long enough to navigate her way back home. The author manages to skillfully make her point about slavery - all kinds of slavery - without going into too many gorey details which makes this accessible to all readers. There were some very gritty passages but necessary. The author brings history class to life in this compelling story and yet, her most powerful points are made in quiet moments. The most powerful one for me was when Dana realized how easy it was to condition people to accept horrific mistreatment. Especially when the power structure condones it. There were several passages that were hard to read. This book will leave a mark and is a MUST-READ for everyone. Even though it was written in the late 70s, it’s a timeless story about freedom and human nature. I would especially recommend for book clubs.

I enjoyed this book. I watch a lot of documentaries and movies about slavery and this story fell right in with those. It felt accurate.

Kindred is the first book I've read by Octavia E. Butler, and now I can’t wait to read all her other works—I definitely want more! This is a powerful masterpiece! It captured my attention from the very first page and kept me engaged throughout. The premise, plot, and writing are nearly flawless. What captivated me were its provocative themes and the deep thinking it inspired. At first, I thought Dana’s actions made sense, and her endurance and compassion toward Rufus were understandable. She was empathetic, and it felt right for her to give him the opportunities she did. But as I went on, I started to question Dana’s character. It seemed like Octavia E. Butler didn’t fully tap into what this character could be and made her feel a bit passive and even complicit in all the suffering around her, including her own. I found myself wondering why someone like Dana would tolerate certain situations. I acknowledge that this perspective came from my own privilege and the awareness shaped by growing up in the 90s and 2000s. Despite this, the book made me think, kept me awake and raised some important questions that sparked conversations I had never considered before. By the end, I realized that we often think we understand how we would react in unimaginable situations. We assume we’d be braver, smarter, and more defiant, but it's easy to say that when we're not actually in those moments. Dana certainly never imagined finding herself in such a mess. The truth was encapsulated in the poignant line: "I never realized how easily people could be trained to accept slavery." The past continues to shape our identities, pulling us back from the present and reminding us why we sometimes feel like we don’t belong.

The book is very well written and is a very easy read. It portrays life as a black slave in the mid 1800s with great accuracy, No sugar coatings. The physical and emotional trauma the black slaves faced is real and devastating. They were subjected to hard work, prejudice, sexual .abuse at the hands of their white owners. It is very easy for the reader to see this and identify with the characters and the struggles they face. Octavia strategically uses time travel (the black Dana and her white husband) to help compare life for a black person in the modern world with that of the 1800's. I give it 5 stars 🌟 for the author's ability to make me identify with the characters and their struggles.