The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

A magic realism novel about American slavery written using the conceit that the Underground Railroad was a literal actual railroad underground. It's an interesting and compelling book in many ways but honestly....I am kind of confused by the point of the conceit in the first place. Possibly (probably) I am just not Literary enough for this book and am failing to recognize important thematic details that the corporealized railroad draws out but that part of the book doesn't work for me personally.

And between that and another part of the book that seems out of its historical context from my knowledge ( (one small spoiler) )

it makes me doubt the historical veracity of everything I'm reading. Yes, it's fiction, but what parts of its historical setting are based on fact and what aren't? How much is part of the alternate-world fantasy? I have no good way of judging. And so I could never get a handle on how to interpret the setting.

Which is a shame because there's a lot to love about the book. It's a vivid and gripping story about a young woman's experiences with slavery and with the many faces of racism and prejudice as she attempts to escape. I cared a lot about Cora and about many of the characters she meets along the way. It's a powerful book, and an important one. I'm just....very slightly off mark for being the right audience for it because of the magic realism. I'M SORRY.