Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Kindred
by Octavia Butler
rev. by M. Meyer
The main character of this fantasy is Dana Franklin, a twenty-six year-old African American writer. Her time travel experiences begin as she and her husband Kevin are unpacking in their new Los Angeles home. She is transported to a riverbank where she hears the cries of a drowning white child. After reviving him, she is attacked by the boy’s mother who thinks she is trying to kill him. Dana faints again and finds herself back in Los Angeles.
After several more trips to the past, she learns that Rufus, the boy she saved, is a relative of hers. She is called back whenever he needs saving, and whenever she is in danger, she is transported back to the 20th century. To complicate matters, she must keep Rufus alive until he fathers her ancestor Hager with a slave named Alice, to ensure her own existence. During the time Dana is a slave her husband Kevin is also transported to the South where he is appalled at the abuse of slaves and is able to help some of them escape.
The climax of the novel comes when Dana discovers that Alice has killed herself because Rufus has threatened to sell her children away if she does not stay with him. Rufus has also made clear he intends to rape Dana, who realizes she must now put an end to Rufus, and her need to travel back to her roots.
rev. by M. Meyer
The main character of this fantasy is Dana Franklin, a twenty-six year-old African American writer. Her time travel experiences begin as she and her husband Kevin are unpacking in their new Los Angeles home. She is transported to a riverbank where she hears the cries of a drowning white child. After reviving him, she is attacked by the boy’s mother who thinks she is trying to kill him. Dana faints again and finds herself back in Los Angeles.
After several more trips to the past, she learns that Rufus, the boy she saved, is a relative of hers. She is called back whenever he needs saving, and whenever she is in danger, she is transported back to the 20th century. To complicate matters, she must keep Rufus alive until he fathers her ancestor Hager with a slave named Alice, to ensure her own existence. During the time Dana is a slave her husband Kevin is also transported to the South where he is appalled at the abuse of slaves and is able to help some of them escape.
The climax of the novel comes when Dana discovers that Alice has killed herself because Rufus has threatened to sell her children away if she does not stay with him. Rufus has also made clear he intends to rape Dana, who realizes she must now put an end to Rufus, and her need to travel back to her roots.
