Book Review: Kindred by Octavia Butler

August 28, 2024

I will start out by giving you some warnings about this book. It is very graphic and very hard to read. There is a lot of physical torture and emotional distress. There is much talk about racism, sexism and white supremacy.

We follow the story of a young woman named Dana when she suddenly gets pulled from her own life in 1976 to another place and time. She is confused and lost and in a time that she is very unsafe simply due to the color of her skin - the early 1800’s. We follow her story as she tries to discover why she is being pulled back, why time is moving differently then and how to get home to her time and her husband.

This book is so beautifully written and so heartbreaking. It is a deeply necessary read filled with grief and loss and understanding and love and family ties.