kindred.gif (146328 bytes)

Books and Cooks November 1999

Kindred

Our rating: 3.52 cups of tea!
BOOKS and COOKS HOMEPAGE

PEOPLE
Books and Cooks participants, email addresses and homepages where available.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS and RATING SYSTEM
Check out some of the books we've discussed in the past, as well as our rating system and ratings for those books.

RECIPROCITY
There are lots of other book groups out there. On this page find some links to bookgroups we've had e-contact with.

BOOK LINKS
Check out this pile of book-related links.

 Kindred by Octavia Butler

Discussion date: November 13, 1999, 2:00PM.

Discussion place: Amanda's place.

Menu: Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, sweet potatos, mashed potatos, giblet gravy, 3 stuffings, pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie, broccoli, pumpkin soup, great wine, salad, cranberry sauce, and more. . .

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Donna Nichols-White
Kindred utilizes the devices of science fiction in order to answer the question "how could anybody be a slave?" A woman from the twentieth century, Dana is repeatedly brought back in time by her slave-owning ancestor Rufus when his life is endangered. She chooses to save him, knowing that because of her actions a free-born black woman will eventually become his slave and her own grandmother. When forced to live the life of a slave, Dana realizes she is not as strong as her ancestors. Unable to will herself back to her own time and unable to tolerate the institution of slavery, she attempts to run away and is caught within a few hours. Her illiterate ancestor Alice succeeds in eluding capture for four days even though "She knew only the area she'd been born and raised in, and she couldn't read a map." Alice is captured, beaten, and sold as a slave to Rufus. As Dana is sent back and forth through time, she continues to save Rufus's life, attempting during each visit to care for Alice, even as she is encouraging Alice to allow Rufus to rape her and thus ensure Dana's own birth. As a twentieth-century African-American woman trying to endure the brutalities of nineteenth-century slavery, Dana answers the question, "See how easily slaves are made?" For Dana, to choose to preserve an institution, to save a life, and nurture victimization is to choose to survive.

The Books and Cooks Kindred Informal Reading Guide
(member-generated questions in no particular order)

  • Is this book science fiction?

  • Was Dana's adjustment to the 1800s realistic, too fast, a combination of the two. . .? 

  • Was Dana's reaction to what was happening to her realistic?

  • What difference does it make that we know at the beginning of the book that Dana and Kevin survive?

  • Despite her resistance, did Dana succumb to a slave mentality? Or did her modern perspective shield her from that fate? 

  • Did Dana treat Alice properly? If Alice were not her ancestor, should Dana have acted differently?

  • What did you think of the introduction?

  • Did Butler's description of the south and slavery in the early 1800s seem convincing and well-drawn to you?

This Page Last Revised: November 21, 2000.