THE PLOT: ‘Kindred’ by Octavia Butler is a novel about time travel. In 1976, Dana is in an interracial marriage which both families don’t approve of. One day she faints and is transported to 1815, where she is assumed to be a slave. There she sees a young boy drowning and saves his life. But little does she realise it will happen again and again. Neither of them understands the boy’s power to summon Dana across time and space. But each time Dana saves his life, she puts her own in danger.

RATING: Octavia Butler can do no wrong in my eyes. There’s something about her writing style that simply captivates me. She knows how to write a fast-paced page turner with complex themes about race, gender and power. This book is terrifying and harrowing and clever and innovative. First published in 1979, it’s truly groundbreaking and an example of genre blending at its finest. Therefore, it’s got to be five stars.

GOOD BITS: From the first page, I knew Butler had done it again. The prologue drops you into the story and there is so much tension you can’t help but wonder how the characters ended up in this situation. As the plot escalates, you become deeply invested in the characters in the past while hoping you never read about them again because you don’t want Dana to keep time travelling. This book highlighted so many aspects of slavery I hadn’t thought about and the complexities of race as Dana is viewed as almost white because of how she talks and acts.

NOT SO GOOD BITS: I felt like the characters accepted the existence of time travel too easily. They didn’t have any of the questions or thoughts I would have if I could suddenly move through time. However, as this was published in 1979, I wonder if there was a slightly different conception of science and physics (like, maybe some people might have thought time travel was inevitable post-space age). Also, I could tell that this was one of Butler’s earlier novels as it felt slightly less polished than ‘The Parable of the Sower’. However, maybe it’s just a taste thing as I prefer Parable.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to lovers of ‘Yellow Wife’ by Sadeeqa Johnson, ‘Time’s Arrow’ by Martin Amis and ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi. Most of this book reads like a historical novel so even if you’re new sci-fi, this is a good one to dip your toe in the water.

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