Giovanni's Room
From one of the most brilliant and provocative literary figures of the past century comes a groundbreaking novel set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris, about love and the fear of love--"a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction" (The Atlantic).
In the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man f...show more
In the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man f...show more
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Community Reviews
Heartbreaking story of a woman’s fight for freedom. This tale unfolds in a series of locations, described with clarity to allow the reader to feel it all. When an event is too powerful, it is revealed in its entirety as a flashback later.
The only device that i couldn’t really grasp was the underground rr actually running trains below ground.
The only device that i couldn’t really grasp was the underground rr actually running trains below ground.
Typically, when I read one of Oprah's magazines, I pay attention to books she recommends. There have been hits and misses (she doesn't have the home runs like Books on the Nightstand had) but her interview with Colson Whitehead was very interesting. His new book, Underground Railroad, is historical fiction that re-imagines the Underground Railroad that we all (should) know as an actual railway system that spirits away slaves to freedom. I had nev...read more
It’s a dismal story told from one of the most unpleasant protagonists I’ve ever seen. This is a painful and heartbreaking read, and it shows an important slice of life.
I didn’t love this book. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction but in The Underground Railroad, the only real historical event I this book was slavery and that slaves escaped on something called the Underground Railroad. In this book, the Underground Railroad is a literal network of railroads built by escaping slaves. The lack of true historical events was almost distracting for me. Really it’s less historical fiction and more fantasy.
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