The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Audiobook Review
Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad transportations listeners back to the horrors of the antebellum South through the eyes of Cora, a servant girl who leaves a Georgia plantation. Told vividly by Bahni Turpin, the audiobook immerses us in Whitehead’s imaginative yet unflinching representation of America’s history of racial subjugation and early abolition motions. Through Cora’s quest for flexibility, we experience chilling truths that still echo today.
We meet Cora as she prepares her flight from the violent plantation together with fellow slave Caesar. Their expected safe passage north quickly exposes the unpleasant truths behind the Underground Railroad’s noble name – its paths through treacherous surface and threats of recapturing ever-showed slaves’ fragile dreams. Turpin populates Cora with compassion, conveying her resiliency and vulnerability as she encounters new cruelties in each subsequent state. Whitehead guarantees listeners comprehend the systematic injury withstood by millions across generations, institutionalised to dehumanize through relentless cruelty and family separation.
Alongside harrowing scenes, Cora’s journey stays grounded through her will to survive. Turpin finds subtlety in even minor characters, advising humankind exists on all sides of subjugation’s divide. Sporadic relief appears through the solidarity of abolitionists running the risk of all to assist. Yet Cora comes to understand America’s “liberty” remains a double-edged sword for those considered less than citizens due to skin alone. The audiobook powerfully critiques how bigotry was weaved into society’s structures, and how far stays to take apart such deeply ingrained prejudice.
Though facing, Bahni Turpin’s grace never sensationalises or gives up dignity. Her tone acknowledges history’s unvarnished intricacies whilst honouring the strength of numerous souls who endured and fought for a simple future. Whitehead’s symbolic setting of “states” along Cora’s path discusses racial traditions which formed and continue forming America. This masterful work will linger long after listening, a haunting yet essential experience for understanding racism’s solid roots and those who get rid of it.
