I read a terrible graphic novel adaptation of Kindred a few years back that made me think the novel would not be worth reading. But then I went ahead and watched the television series on Hulu, and it was so good it felt like it couldn't be drawn from the same source material. And then I heard the show was canceled after the first season, which covered only the first half of the novel, and I wouldn't be getting the end of the story. So it was time to tackle the novel (which my wife kindly read aloud to me over the course of a month).

And it turns out to be good!

I still prefer the TV show for fleshing out the present day sequences with more characters and more consequences for the disappearances caused by the time traveling, but the novel really brings Dana's inner life to the fore and makes her endurance of the Rufus character more understandable even as their relationship becomes more tragic.

The pacing seems a bit too slow at times as we spend too long in certain time periods and the subject matter can become grueling as we're given a ton of trauma to deal with, but the insights into slavery and racism are very worthwhile. ( )

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. I feel like it's very rare that I read a book of this intensity, this quality. Any time I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it!!! There were so many times that I struggled to deal with the horrible treatment that the slaves on the Weylin plantation endured. It was very difficult to read, at times. However, I knew that the very least I could do was to push through it. I'm so glad that I did. I'm also glad this is a book my family owns, as I'll likely read it again someday. Instant-favorite! ( )

Incredible. No notes. ( )

After reading (and loving) the Dawn series, this was my next foray into Octavia Butler's writings. Capturing the fierce emotions of her characters seems to be a strength of Butler's. It was that way with Dawn and the same is true for Kindred. Kindred's main character, Dana, must endure the inexplicable time travel between her life in 1976 and the pre-war South, on top of dealing with the realities of being a slave when she is pulled back into time.

Each time she is pulled back in time, it is because the life of a young white boy is in danger. She realizes that the boy, Rufus, is a descendent, and his survival is tied to her own.

The novel is rich in the obvious themes of racism and sexism, but I think the tumultuous relationship between Dana and Rufus also speaks to the frequently very complicated relationship that African-Americans have with white Americans. In one sense, we feel disdain toward continually being relegated to second-class citizen status, yet there really doesn't seem to be a way to move forward in this nation without forming a kindred bond. Despite how often Rufus' treatment of Dana becomes deplorable, she realizes that they need each other and must find a way to move forward together . ( )

Although I was not enthusiastic about this book club choice, I am glad to have read it. It generated a lively discussion about the themes of slavery and oppression which arise when a modern (1976) African American woman finds herself travelling back in time to 1819 on a Maryland farm, forced to rescue an ancestor to assure his and her own survival, and she must live as a slave in doing so. The writing struck me as clear but not lyrical. There was almost too much dialog at times but the story is a good one and trundled me along to its unsatisfactory ending. The protagonist and her husband do a little historical research but never really resolve this strange occurrence and how it permanently changed their lives. ( )