#136 Kindred

 Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Kindred is one of the earliest published (first published in 1979) sci-fi novels by a POC author and that fact alone made me so keen to read this. I picked this one up not knowing absolutely anything about the plot but the new UK cover is stunning so i had to get myself a copy. 

The story follows a woman named Dana who finds that she is able to time travel back in time, she has no control over this and it can happen at anytime, she also doesnt know why this happens. She time travels back from her own time in the 1970's New York to early 19th century Maryland around 1815 i believe. Dana slowly begins to realise that she is travelling back to the same place and encountering the same boy each time, she works out that theres a correlation that anytime this young boy Rufus is in trouble Dana is drawn to him. Rufus's father owns a plantation and in the early 1800's black people are still sold as slaves and he is one of Dana's ancestors which forms the link between them. This is immediatley difficult for Dana as she is taken from the 70's and thrust into a time of being seen as a slave as she is a black woman herself. The men within this society make comments on the way Dana talks, carries herself and even the way she dresses. Its fair to say that they are suspisious of her. 

A really important plot point is that at the beginning of the book Dana cannot control when she travels nor for how long she will stay in the 1800's, when Dana is transported back time has progressed differently to that of her time in the past. Something to note is how feel Dana's relationship with Rufus is written, Rufus is very conflicted as he grows older in knowing that Dana is connected to him and there to help him but hes also being raised in a society where it is the norm for black people to be slaves and seen as lesser that the white man. 

I would say if you are going into this book hoping for a sci-fi novel then you will come away disappointed as this is much more of a historical fiction novel in the way it is written, with some time travel elements thrown in. There are no scientific explanations as to how Dana can travel in time, which didnt bother me but i imagine if you picked this book up hoping for more sci-fi it would. Its more a prop for the author to demonstrate the contrasting societies and how our values have changed over time. 

I really enjoyed this book, dont get me wrong its so harrowing in the topics and can be quite graphic at points but i could not put this book down. There is a lot of violence, sexual assault and discussion of slavery and worth etc. It certainly doesnt shy away from the topic of racism and the difficulty of being a female in that time period which for its time is highly commendable. I especially loved how indepth it was, we get an array of characters and really delve into each characters story. Such an engaging page turner!