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Summary: My favorite!
Review: I was an English major in college and I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a short and simply read packed with fantastic imagination and social awareness. This book really makes you wonder "what if that happened to me? would I have the strength to survive?". It's Octavia's best. Once you read this one you'll want to buy them all! (I did and I don't regret it). Write another one Octavia!
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Summary: The Slave Experience Through Time
Review: I thought this book was fascinating because it conveys how the future is strongly dependent on the past. Butler interweaves these two time periods to illustrate how one's current identity stems from the hardships of the past years. The protagonist current identity reflects not only the Black Power Movement of the 70s, but the resistant mentality of the slaves we read about in the novel. This book raises slave awareness, ancestral importance, and various movements such as Pan Africanism, Black Power Movement. It is personally enriching because the reader can see how the protagonist develops mentally and reaches the level of the organic intellectual.
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Summary: Not your average SF
Review: I'm a dedicated SF fan and have read most of Ms Butler's novels. This one certainly departs from the usual genre, but is not such a departure as other reviewers suggest. Ms Butler's work has always favoured character development and social conscience over glossy tech. This is Speculative Fiction, not Science Fiction.This one kept me reading, kept me thinking, and moved me deeply. Her writing is, as always, lucid and tight, but that does not make it an easy read. This is a disturbing novel that's real enough to pack a heavy emotional punch. In the end, the best I can say is "Thank you, Ms Butler, for the experience".
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Summary: A Decent Book, But It Could Have Been Better
Review: When I first started the book, I really disliked it. I thought that Octavia Butler's writing was rather childlike and poor, but as the novel progressed, this improved. That was not my main concern. The ending was rather rushed and pointless, and the loss of her arm at the end [which they tell you about from the beginning, so I'm not spoiling anything] really wasn't necessary. I simply believe that the ending could have come in a more appropriate way. As for the novel in general, it was a pretty entertaining story but I wouldn't really classify this book as science fiction; it was more like historical fiction. All in all, a decent read, but it could have been much better if certain elements were avoided.
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Summary: Octavia Butler finds the Kindred in us all
Review: I give this book to everyone in my life. Anyone who likes fiction, will enjoy Kindred. Forget about the gendre. It's as much Science Fiction as yesterdays news. As an African American woman, recently returning to the states after living in Canada with a white husband, I still read, and re-read Kindred and consider it the most profound explanation/interogation of our country and it's history of slavery and adverse race relations. To say it's science fiction, is to pigeon hole Octavia Butler because she deals with ideas, we as a people are still struggling with. This racial divide, is ours to understand, and perhaps embrace. It's unique to a country only 100 years removed form slavery. Start it tonight, and I gaurantee, you won't be able to put it down!
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Summary: Not sci-fi, not a great work
Review: Mrs Butler has made a well justified reputation for herself as one of the most unusual authors of science fiction. Clearly she is a terrific writer, very imaginative, and indeed it is not apparent that she is an African American female writer. She is a terrific writer, period. My all-time favorite is "Survivor", a very straightforward but gripping story. I can't say I liked "Kindred" at all, and the reason for this is simple: it is an antithesis of her other work. Everything that makes mrs Butler's work great is absent here and everything that makes mrs Butler's work weak is abundantly present here. There are no science fiction elements present (as Larry Niven pointed out, time travel is strictly a fantasy theme, and unless you use it to get a view of the future it has nothing to do with sci fi) and this book is overwhelmingly African American. It is a historical novel with a fantasy twist. All those reviewers that claim they don't usually like science fiction but do like "Kindred" obviously wouldn't know sci fi if they met it. Mrs Butler even at her worst (as here) is still a competent writer so two stars, but anyone who likes science fiction is advised to stay well clear of this. If you are into African American stuff and would like to confirm yourself: "Kindred" may be for you.
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Summary: excellent work once more
Review: Octavia E. Butler won the "genius" award a few years back and this book shows why. Her characters are engaging and lifelike, the situations believable, and the results not always what you wanted but clearing what makes sense. It is still rare to have strong female characters in science fiction and even rarer for those who are not caucasian. Butler has given the world a great treat both for our minds and our hearts.
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Summary: You Won't Want To Put This Book Down
Review: Octavia E. Butler did an incredible job of capturing the reader's attention right away, and not letting go. Her novel takes us on a science fiction journey from 1976 to the antebellum South. In these journeys, Dana, a young black woman, is constantly being summoned back in time to save Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner. Dana returns often to save Rufus to ensure her heritage, as he will eventually grow up and father her ancestor. Her journeys are rich in southern history and portray a classic battle of personal morals vs. personal heritage in a real racial dilemma. Butler does a fantastic job of developing her characters, as well as the woderful plot. This book is a must read for all fans of good literature.
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Summary: A COMPLEX TALE
Review: I am not a fan of science fiction and so I have avoided reading Ms. Butler's work as I thought it would all be included in that genre. After co-workers and friends telling me how wonderful this book was, I decided to give it a shot. I will say that it was much better than I expected but it was not a book that I could easily zip through; some parts took some time to digest and sometimes the book did not hold my interest but I persevered and I'm glad I did.
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Summary: Breakthrough Literature
Review: Here at Hampton during my freshman year, Kindred was a requirement to read for our English class. It was a great literary selection! It only took me 3 days to read Ms. Butler's excellent book. Never have I read anything like her work before, but I crave more. It made me proud to read the science fiction produced by a strong Black woman centered around a strong Black theme. I will continue to support her as we all should. I would hate to think that Ms. Butler is the only one of her kind....
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