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    Kindred
    Kindred
    Kindred
    Audiobook10 hours

    Kindred

    Written by Octavia E. Butler

    Narrated by Kim Staunton

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The first science fiction written by a Black woman, Kindred has become a cornerstone of Black American literature. This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a novel of rich literary complexity. Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning white boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes the challenge she's been given: to protect this young slaveholder until he can father her own great-grandmother. Author Octavia E. Butler skillfully juxtaposes the serious issues of slavery, human rights, and racial prejudice with an exciting science fiction, romance, and historical adventure. Kim Staunton's narrative talent magically transforms the listener's earphones into an audio time machine.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 2, 2008
    ISBN9781436116961

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    Reviews for Kindred

    4.5/5

    3,760 ratings233 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of history and its impact on the present. Octavia Butler's writing style and research make it easy to understand the experiences of slaves. The characters are well-developed and the story is captivating, with moments of tenderness and incredible perseverance. While the book is not an easy read due to the cruelty depicted, it is a powerful and entertaining journey that leaves a lasting impact. Overall, this book is highly recommended for its powerful storytelling and relevance to modern times.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book will stay with me for a long time. It was a very powerful and entertaining read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      One of the best books I’ve ever read (listened to)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book is simply amazing, it’s a must read! I’m still in deep thought, I can still feel the tears and confusion left in my gut. This is amazing, definitely a thinker and definitely shifts the perspective and understanding of slavery and the psychology of slavery

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Wonderful book. Amazing narrator. Really recommend it. Five star book and narrating.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      It was good to finally read (listen) to Kindred by Octavia Butler. It had been on my reading list for so long. It's a deep dive into the slave life on a plantation, with a modern day sci-fi twist. Inspired! The recorded book offered here on Scribd has at least five major skips in the audio. So there are sections of the book that I missed while listening. I checked my player and found it functioning. This recorded book needs to be re-uploaded and checked for its full content. Thanks!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It was an interesting story. The characters are so well written that you love and hate some equally.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I read a terrible graphic novel adaptation of Kindred a few years back that made me think the novel would not be worth reading. But then I went ahead and watched the television series on Hulu, and it was so good it felt like it couldn't be drawn from the same source material. And then I heard the show was canceled after the first season, which covered only the first half of the novel, and I wouldn't be getting the end of the story. So it was time to tackle the novel (which my wife kindly read aloud to me over the course of a month).

      And it turns out to be good!

      I still prefer the TV show for fleshing out the present day sequences with more characters and more consequences for the disappearances caused by the time traveling, but the novel really brings Dana's inner life to the fore and makes her endurance of the Rufus character more understandable even as their relationship becomes more tragic.

      The pacing seems a bit too slow at times as we spend too long in certain time periods and the subject matter can become grueling as we're given a ton of trauma to deal with, but the insights into slavery and racism are very worthwhile.
    • 5/5
      If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. I feel like it's very rare that I read a book of this intensity, this quality. Any time I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it!!! There were so many times that I struggled to deal with the horrible treatment that the slaves on the Weylin plantation endured. It was very difficult to read, at times. However, I knew that the very least I could do was to push through it. I'm so glad that I did. I'm also glad this is a book my family owns, as I'll likely read it again someday. Instant-favorite!
    • 5/5
      Kindred has been falsely branded under the classification of a genre novel (genre-bending or not), just because it happens to incorporate some seemingly fantastical ingredients as part of the wordsmith's brew, and in so doing, has belittled its rightful status as a masterstroke of modern art and educational significance. There is so much gravity in the historical depictions contained within these pages smeared with blood and tears, portrayed with a harrowing present-day voice which is so identifiable, that it is an earthshaking experience for anyone to leaf through with at least an ounce of pity in their heart. This is a staggering story of the realities of slavery and an eye-opening portrayal of a demoralizing human cruelty. Why there are so many contenders which take Kindred's place as required academic reading I'll never comprehend.
    • 4/5
      The only unsatisfying thing about this book is the characters' apparent uninterest in the "how" of their time travel. That absence almost made me rate this a 3-star book.
      [Audiobook note: The reader gives the plantation residents an accent more suited to Mississippi than Maryland. But other than that, she does quite well.]
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. I have never read a sci-fi book by a black woman. I hope to find many more. I wish there was a sequel to it. I did not like rufus from the beginning. Wasn't sure if it was my general dislike for racist and white but i was right. I loved how graphic the violence was because slavery was a thousand times more worse than anyone can imagine. Interesting how they are all connected. I would love to know the fate of Sarah, Nigel, and the other characters as well.
    • 4/5
      Dana inexplicably time travels to a plantation in pre Civil War Maryland when Rufus is in mortal danger. Rufus is also her ancestor. How does she return to her life in 19$0’s LA? She puts herself in mortal danger.
    • 5/5
      Set in 1976 California, Kindred is the story of a 26-year-old black woman who disappears from her home and is transported to 1819 Maryland. She saves a white boy named Rufus from drowning then is immediately brought back to her present. Dana returns to the past again and again, each time staying for longer and under more dangerous circumstances.
    • 5/5
      I've always shied away from sci-fi works because I thought many tried to escape the human realities for far away places... Not Butler! Her book forces one to confront the very real human tendencies, pains, short-comings, and a sprinkling of pleasures. Oh, what a book!
    • 5/5
      Great read. Highly recommend it. Octavia E Butler wonderful author
    • 5/5
      Loved this book so well written and so well spoken also in the audiobook
    • 5/5
      This book was really good. Kept my interest through out, and the reader was awesome.
    • 5/5
      I love this book! I can't wait to share it with my students.
    • 3/5
      Low lexile, elementary language, simplistic. The original premise is wrong since Dana continually interferes with history. Rather redundant and boring. The draw is that Butler was the first Black female sci-fic author. I hope it isn't her best work, but this isn't good enough to entice me to read other titles.
    • 5/5
      The foundation of the book as a whole is solid, but I ruined it by watching the television series (some added parts I like- i.e., her mother being a traveler, also) before reading the book.
    • 5/5
      This was a hard, hard read. And worth it.
    • 5/5
      Mixed realities and generational time realities. Not wholly believable. Must suspend disbelief.
    • 5/5
      Not an easy read but definitely loved it. The characters and story telling was absolutely incredible.
    • 5/5
      I loved everything about this book!!! Everyone should read it!
    • 4/5
      This audio book was incredibly hard to listen to. I don't know if a book has ever made me angrier. But it also made me incredibly sad for humanity. It was very well written. But not for thr faint of heart.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book! Love Octavia Butler! Time travel & history!
    • 5/5
      Such a well crafted story of a time that won’t find clarity and a cursed practice that is yet to settle
    • 5/5
      I'm not really into Sci-Fi and I was nervous about the back and forth between past and present. However, I was wrong, this book was amazing and engaging. Very frustrating at times as well.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. The characters were so well-developed. It was not an easy read due to the sheer cruelty of humans, but there were also tender moments & incredible perseverance & courage. I was interested the entire time & couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next!
    • 5/5
      Amazing storytelling. I couldn’t put it down. Thank you OB!