kindred by octavia butler
the cover of this book is so misleading. it features a young black woman above some old housing units. the picture is sort of faded and muted which brings to mind old 19th century photographs. my first impression is that it’s some historical fiction novel. i am not interested. i do not like stories that deal much with history. not to my surprise, the story of Dana is set amidst slavery on the Weylin plantation. but what stunned me about this novel right off the bat is the extremely paranormal piece of it. the paranormal event was the perfect hook to get me into this novel and it was well-placed at the beginning of the story. yes, the novel deals with the lives of slaves on a plantation and explores the hierarchy of command of the plantation owner and his family, but it is only a backdrop of the more intriguing story of how Dana fits in to all of it.
the flow of time in this tale is interesting. it opens with the ending, then starts from the beginning, then proceeds to bounce back and forth through time. without giving away any of the awesome surprises, Dana, who is a young well-educated back woman, becomes eerily connected to Rufus, a white boy who is heir to the plantation and all its slaves. Dana must fight for Rufus’s life or it will mean she will never exist (paradox!), all the while she must adjust to life on a plantation and fight also to save and be with her husband, Kevin (who is white, which helps to twist up the plot).
i found Dana and Kevin to be an incredibly sweet and endearing couple. the understanding and love they shared was absolute. Dana was tough and smart, and she seemed to be much more thoughtful than i would have been in her situation. it is a beautiful story and one that i very much enjoyed. it ends bittersweetly and leaves a few burning questions.
and just in case you’ve read it, what is the significance of her arm?
the bookend. 