Reviews

Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler

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tuesday_evening's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Kindred begins and ends in mystery."

Incredible. It was heavy, layered, and frustrating. Each character raised so many thoughts and emotions in me from empathy to sympathy to rage.

By bringing in everyday elements of 1976: the news, her friends, workplace realities, mundanity in vignettes, Octavia Butler allowed space for disconnect for the reader. She gave us space to catch our breath after being drowned in the antebellum South, as our main character, 26-year-old Edana Franklin, traveled through time. It was a grace and mercy in a way. As I moved through the novel, the knowledge that there would be some reprieve for the main character Dana, even if it was short-lived, was a lifeline. I needed some reprieve after the atrocities. The writing is immersive.

I thought this was such a spotless and affecting line in relation to the entire novel:

"Like the Nazis, antebellum whites had known quite a bit about torture—quite a bit more than I ever wanted to learn." - 39% in 'Kindred' by Octavia Butler

Kindred was a next-level read that held me completely rapt. There were so many lessons and I can't wait to read more work by Octavia Butler.

kyshea11's review

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

vegabela's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

pferdina's review

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adventurous challenging reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

evasverris's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jflem's review

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

dkel10's review

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Octavia Butler writes darkness in a way not many other people can. This book is dark, painful, frustrating, confusing and all too realistic. Recommend reading for anyone.

If anything, my only complaint is that the ending seemed very sudden.