An intellectually and emotionally profound meditation on the prejudices of the past and the ambiguous march of progress, Butler’s stunning time-travel narrative sees a Black woman thrown through points in history where her very presence could sign her death warrant. Skilfully utilising the tropes of science fiction to tell a politically and morally absorbing story, Kindred haunts and questions on every page.
Octavia E. Butler's 1979 masterpiece and ground-breaking exploration of power and responsibility, the extraordinary story of two people bound by blood, separated by so much more than time. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid's Tale, The Power and Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing. With an original foreword by Ayobami Adebayo.
'[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human' - New York Times
In 1976, Dana dreams of being a writer. In 1815, she is assumed a slave.
When Dana first meets Rufus on a Maryland plantation, he's drowning. She saves his life - and it will happen again and again.
Neither of them understands his power to summon her whenever his life is threatened, nor the significance of the ties that bind them.
And each time Dana saves him, the more aware she is that her own life might be over before it's even begun.
Octavia E. Butler's ground-breaking masterpiece is the extraordinary story of two people bound by blood, separated by so much more than time.
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781472258229
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 220 g
Dimensions: 196 x 126 x 22 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision' - Guardian
'[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human' - New York Times
'No novel I've read this year has felt as relevant, as gut-wrenching or as essential... If you've ever tweeted #AllLivesMatter, someone needs to shove Kindred into your hand, and quickly' - The Pool
'Kindred is that rare magical artifact . . . the novel one returns to, again and again' - Harlan Ellison
'One of the most original, thought-provoking works examining race and identity.' - Los Angeles Times
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“Thought provoking ”
Kindred is part historical fiction/part science fiction. Normally I am not keen on time travelling stories but this one seemed to work.
This story follows Dana a modern black woman who travels back in time to pre...
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“A superb science-fiction novel.”
Dana, a young woman from 1976, finds herself transported back in time to 19th century Maryland. Dana meets a young boy called Rufus and realises he is the reason she is brought to this time period. Her husband, Kevin,... More
“Favourite SF book by far”
This was the first SF book I'd ever read--I was around 14 at the time--and it's stayed with me since. It takes you to a place of humility, necessity, and fear--in a phrase, slavery.
Think Neil Gaiman meets...
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