KINDRED

by Octavia Butler

MINI REVIEW

I have my friend Ellen to thank for recommending Kindred.  Written in 1979, Kindred is another landmark Black American novel that I hadn’t read, by a novelist I had always intended to read. Set in modern-day California, Butler tells the story of a newly married woman, Dana, who one day without warning or explanation, finds herself transported to the antebellum South.  Shaken and confused, she immediately comes to the rescue of a plantation owner’s son, Rufus, who is drowning.  What follows are years of unplanned time-travel visits to the plantation, where Dana, a black woman, establishes a real bond with Rufus, but still must endure living the life of a slave when she is there.  If time-travel isn’t your favorite literary device, I encourage you to give this novel a read anyway.  Butler’s story about Dana, who in our time is married to a white man, but who also experiences the antebellum South firsthand, will draw you in and fascinate you.  Kindred has become an iconic book and Butler’s use of time-travel is one of the reasons why. I highly recommend Kindred. (Liz)