Wednesday 26 March 2014

Kindred by Octavia Butler

"I never realised how easily people could be trained to accept slavery."

Dana is moving into a new apartment with her husband when she starts to feel dizzy and nauseous.  The next thing she knows, she is in nineteenth-century Maryland, rescuing a white boy who turns out to be her ancestor, as well as the son of a slave-owner.  Although her visit to the past is brief, Dana finds herself called back more often and for longer, and with each trip the danger intensifies.  For nineteenth century Maryland isn't a safe place for a black woman, especially one used to modern life.  But as Dana spends more time in the past, she feels herself changing as the reality of slavery wears her down, threatening the life she has built in the present.

I was expecting Kindred to be very good, as I've seen many positive reviews of it and know it to be highly regarded, but it went well beyond my expectations.  Kindred isn't just a good book, it's a truly excellent and thought provoking one.  Butler takes the simple premise of a black woman going back to the slavery era and fleshes her out by adding all of these extra dimensions and complications.  Dana has a white husband, and her ancestor is white.  Her relationship with Rufus, her ancestor, is complex, as she deplores the way slaves are treated on his property, but can't help but have a bond with him.  She finds her views changing with the reality of life for slaves, at one point advising others to keep their heads down, to not fight, despite this going against everything she believes in.  The fact that Kevin, her husband, also goes back in time at one point was also an interesting plot device, and one allowed their relationship to be explored fully.

What I loved most of all about Kindred is that Butler doesn't shy away from any of these complications. Of course slavery was wrong, but Butler really explores what it might have been like at the time, how reality and the choices of life were never simple for slaves.  We see why slaves might choose to be raped rather than run away, we witness their horrific punishments, and to a certain extent we get to see a modern woman conditioned to accept slavery through her experience in the society.  Rufus remains morally ambiguous, treating different slaves in different ways and being a realistic product of his time.  It would have been easy for Butler to demonise him, but she didn't.  Reading Kindred really made me think and reminded me that no issue is simple.  Slavery is rightly shown to be horrific, but gritty and complicated too.

As well as being thought provoking, Kindred is also a gripping read, with a fast paced plot that escalates quickly and builds up tension throughout.  I read it in just two days, which is unheard of at the moment!  It's a book I'd recommend to anyone, whether you are interested in sci-fi/time travel or not.  And I can't wait to pick up more of Butler's books in the future.

Source: From the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: In this edition, March 2014
Score: 5 out of 5

24 comments:

  1. This is an intriguing title and from what you say it kind of reminds me of Victorian Chaise lounge where a 20th century woman travels back to the 19th and finds no historical fantasy but rather a nightmare of disempowerment.
    Looking forward to your review of Signature of all things, it is on my shelf I just don't have time to read it at the moment. Kindred is now on my list of books to keep an eye out for.

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    1. Oh yes,it's definitely a historical nightmare.
      I'm enjoying Signature of all Things so far....it's due back on Thursday so I have to get reading over the weekend!

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  2. I too raced through this book. I think it's one of the most intriguing uses of time travel I've encountered. I liked the revelation she had of Rufus' father, a mean penny-pinching man, whose frugality ironically keeps the enslaved people from being sold off and separated from their families. I also liked how the book showed that of course slavery is an institution that is the worst towards the enslaved people, but it also corrupts the slave-owning and makes them the worse off for it as well.

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    1. I loved the use of time travel, I've never seen it used quite like that before. And I agree that the morally ambiguous characters were one of the strengths of the novel.

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  3. You've got me intrigued. I doubt I will get to it soon, but its going on my TBR

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    1. Hope you get a chance to read it at some point in the future :)

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  4. I really need to read this -- I adored Butler's Parable of the Sower which I read maybe a year after Hurricane Katrina -- it blew my mind.

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    1. I so want to read more Butler now - I will start with the one you mention.

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  5. I had no idea this one had a time travel aspect to it -- what an interesting way to explore this topic. May have to add this to my list.

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    1. It is well worth reading. I knew the basic outline of the plot before starting, but it was much better than I expected it to be.

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  6. Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it. If you have time, try her short story, "Blood Child" ("Bloodchild?"). It's a very different context but amazing the way Butler puts some of the same tropes and complications to work. Amazing stuff. And it's available online!

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation Andi, I will definitely check out Blood Child :)

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  7. I loved this book so much! It is still in my mind as one of the best books I've read recently. She really gets the reader under her spell, doesn't she?

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    1. I think it will stick in my mind too. I'm looking forward to reading more books by her in the future.

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  8. I haven't actually seen any other reviews of this book, at least none that I recall, but you have definitely piqued my interest in Kindred. It sounds like it may well be a tough read but one worth working through. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. It was a tough read, but it wasn't completely without hope and that made it more bearable.

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  9. I'm desperaaaate to read some Butler but can never seem to find her anywhere. BUT a 2014 publication date? IS SHE BEING REISSUED? Cause that is very exciting to me! This review has basically reinforced my desire to read this, so well done with that!

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    1. Psst - sign yourself up to bookbridgr and you can get a review copy like I did!

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  10. Yessssss, more people realizing the wonder that is Butler. This book is so so so good. She's not afraid to take on difficult topics and keep the complexity intact.

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    1. I can't wait to read more by Butler, I think she's going to become a new favourite author.

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  11. I'm so glad my book group chose to read this in April! I think it will lead to a brilliant discussion.

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  12. Other than the time travel, I could see myself liking this one.

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  13. I found this book so powerful as well. I agree - we know about slavery in the abstract, but not in the way it had such a visceral impact on people's lives. If you want another great perspective on it, I highly recommend Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

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  14. That's good that it's being reissued! I finally read Kindred last fall for A More Diverse Universe and I'm planning to read Parable of the Sower for the next one. Like Aarti, I also thought Wench was excellent!

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