Kindred

by Octavia E. Butler

Paperback, 287 pages

English language

Published March 12, 2008 by Beacon Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-8070-8369-7

(8 reviews)

The first science fiction written by a black woman, Kindred has become a cornerstone of black American literature. This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a novel of rich literary complexity. Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning white boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes the challenge she’s been given...

11 editions

Flauschbuch reviewed Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Powerful

5 stars

This book packs a punch. It really drives home that the past can be very dangerous and how it continues to influence the present. Probably one of the best time travel tales. Despite the heavy themes I found it very gripping and hard to put down. And it's so well written. We see everything through Dana's eyes and only learn what she learns when she learns it. It all feels very organic. The characterisations are well done, too, e.g. I guessed that Dana's husband is white before it's mentioned just by the way he is well-meaning but doesn't quite get it. The book explores the system of slavery, how "slaves are made" and the violence inherent in the system even when no overt violence is occurring. Even if you already know a lot about slavery, it really adds another dimension to it. I highly recommend reading it.

Flippin' 'Eck, Reader reviewed Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Black women writers series)

Still powerful almost half a century on

4 stars

Content warning Minor plot information

Octavia E Butler published Kindred in 1978, but started writing it a couple of years earlier. So it's coming up for its 50th anniversary, but it honestly doesn't feel like it.

By using the device of (inadvertent) time travel to send an intelligent, educated middle-class 20th century Black American woman into the Southern USA before the Civil War, Butler tries to bring the horrors and cruelties of slavery to the attention of readers who might not otherwise go near a history book.

Obviously everyone knows that slavery was terrible, but the book really focuses your mind on how arbitrary decisions made by a slave owner, almost on a whim, could rip families apart and result in brutal punishment for minor offences or even none at all.

Rather than being a more Hollywood-esque "triumph of good over evil" story, it actually shows the main character becoming more and more accepting of her fate as time goes on, as she realises that any attempt to beat the system is futile. But at the same time, by bringing her 20th-century sensibilities to people who might at times be cruel but are (for the most part) not intentionally sadistic, Dana also manages to slightly improve her lot as well as those of the other enslaved people in the household.

I'd definitely recommend the book. The prose is easy to read but never superficial, and the plot moves along at a fair old pace. My only real criticism is that there is no satisfactory explanation for why the two main characters' lives suddenly become intertwined across 150 years of separation. It's really just a plot device to bring in the main story and as such, although this is often classed as a science fiction novel, I don't think it really fits into that category.

Rainer reviewed Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (The Women's Press science fiction)

Such an original and captivating storyline

5 stars

What a book. I was drawn in by the horrifying scenario that Dana found herself trapped in, but the examination of how slavery was so normalized, and how evil the institution of chattel slavery was.

I happened to have been in the middle of this book when a conspiracy theorist, racist member of my extended family brought up how whites are unfairly blamed for slavery. It made me realize that while the practice of owning people as slaves is gone, the same anti-black philosophy is still thriving among white men.

The idea that my family member or his ilk would tacitly endorse the return of slavery is slim, but, in finding themselves in Kevin's shoes might think similarly that "Hey, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be..."

reading crustacean reviewed Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Black women writers series)

captivating

5 stars

I liked this A Lot. Got through it in a couple of days because I really empathized with the characters and was keen to see what happened to them. I think the book is based on a very interesting idea. The horror of slavery is described very clearly and I have the impression that I somewhat understood it.