Winner of the National Book Award (2016), The Pulitzer Prize (2017) and the Arthur C. Clarke Award (2017), Colson Whitehead’s novel of slaves seeking escape from thralldom in 19th Century America is actually a work of historical science fiction, a parallel world where the Underground Railroad is literally a functioning secret railroad beneath the ground to help African American slaves make their way to freedom in the North.  It is a novel of social consciousness and an amazing odyssey, centering on a woman, Cora, on the run and her indefatigable pursuer, a professional slave-catcher.  Throughout the story Whitehead depicts the strange and varied laws of race, servitude and punishment that his main character must negotiate from state to state, and these form a commentary on inhuman social experiments across the Modern Era in the Western World.

Our guest discussion leader and presenter is Dr. Heather Edwards, Associate Professor in the Department of English at Ohio University.

Please register for the program online through the Library Calendar.  The class will meet live online through Google Meet.