Kindred – Octavia E. Butler
Expectation: A science fiction/horror classic with historical elements.
Reality: A no holds barred exploration of the horrors of slavery through the lens of 20th century sensibility. It was devastating and utterly engrossing.
My Take:
Like James Baldwin before her, I’m disappointed that Octavia E. Butler never made required reading lists while I was in school, because “Kindred” is precisely the type of novel that has the power to entertain — if that’s the right word for such difficult subject matter — while also challenging and informing the reader.
For all the books I’ve read over my lifetime, this one is wholly unique. Its blend of science fiction, historical fiction and social commentary feels ageless. In other words, it is the very definition of a classic and one that even non-genre fans can appreciate.
Far smarter people have analyzed and reviewed this book, so I’m not going to recap the plot or discuss its themes, but there are a few things that came to mind while reading.
The plot is genius. The idea of a person from modern times (in this case 1976) traveling to the past is often viewed as quaint or humorous. There’s none of that in “Kindred.” The fact a Black woman, Dana, is dropped in 1815 Maryland on a slave plantation to save her white ancestor has so many layers. This structure allowed Butler to explore power dynamics, racial injustice and sexism in meaningful and thought-provoking ways.
Even when the plot got a little repetitive near the end I was still completely engaged in the story. Butler continued to add challenging and complex circumstances to Dana’s plight, ultimately landing on a single question: when is a live not worth saving?
It’s accessible history. There have been several great novels over the past decade that bring forward the perspective of the enslaved, specifically Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad,” Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing” and Robert Jones, Jr.’s “The Prophets” (plus more I haven’t yet read.) Each of those novels is full of gorgeous and descriptive writing and memorable characters that makes them capital L literary.
Butler had a different approach: full throttle storytelling. She starts the novel with a jolt and doesn’t let up. It is plot driven versus character driven, but you still don’t lose the impact of the history she presents (Bulter had a history degree, fyi). While you may not get pages of descriptive language or meaningful character arcs for all the players, you do get a desperate, lived-in view of slavery that the aforementioned novels never quite captured — and she doesn’t hold back.
One of the most chilling scenes (of many) was when Dana witnessed her great-great grandfather being whipped by a patrolman. Outside of the acknowledgement of pain and helplessness that any reasonable person would’ve felt in that situation, Dana has the added torture of understanding this was how her ancestors lived, and it was a real threat to her now. It was simply bone-chilling.
My only complaint is that Butler never fully explained the why behind Dana’s journey. Unlike Ebeneezer Scrooge, who needed to make amends with his ghosts, that wasn’t the case with Dana. Did she travel back to ensure her ancestor was born? Was it to save as many slaves as possible from Rufus’s grasp? Was this some sort of purgatory loop? I’m sure each reader will have a different take.
The audiobook was narrated by Kim Staunton and it’s a well done but no frills experience. I love the way she portrayed Dana’s interactions with characters in the 1800s — applying an “are you serious?!” edge to the most gasp-inducing language and situations. You truly felt like you were experiencing Dana’s time travel as your own. Given the difficult subject matter, this is a good way to experience the story.
Rating (story): 5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: September 14 – September 18, 2022
Multi-tasking: Good to go. The story is easy to follow, but you’ll miss a lot of the nuance and history that Butler provides the listener.
