Kindred by Octavia Butler was published in 1979 and is my second book for the Vintage Science Fiction Month (not a reading challenge) of January 2021. I chose to go with the graphic novel version from Damian Duffy (adaptation) and John Jennings (illustration).
is not “comfort read”. It’s not the book to choose when you’re down with pandemic fatigue. But it IS a science fiction classic that is a must-read for understanding the issues of race and slavery in Antebellum South.
The Plot:
Dana and Kevin, black and white, man and wife, are cozily settled in 1970s (modern) California. They are free people, have job opportunities and very supportive of each other. Till one day, Dana (and later, Kevin) suddenly ends up time-traveling back to 1815, and meets Rufus, one of Dana’s own ancestors.
It’s not a happy meeting. Rufus is a conflicted white slaveholder, whose mercy is conditional on obedience. He cannot seem to make up his mind about Dana and the other slaves on his plantation — and “no” is not a word that he can tolerate. Despite this, Dana is forced to save him repeatedly.
Review:
Dana’s rescuing Rufus again and again makes for complicated motivations. He is one of her ancestors and I think she keeps hoping he will redeem himself. “Kindred” is a loaded word, because Dana’s kindred turns out to be the oppressor, and seeing that violent family history is its own kind of hell.
The story is brutal. There is continuous inhuman treatment, with no kindness to be had in pre-Civil War South, at least in Rufus’ plantation. The graphic adaptation thankfully doesn’t portray this in too much detail, but what it does show is horrifying enough.
Kevin gets pulled into the time loop too, away from Dana. We don’t get much close-up of his travails, but it seems he faced mob-lynching for trying to free slaves. His returns home an angry man, and the graphic novel portrays that well.
There are also things that don’t get answered. Mainly what exactly triggers the time travel — which is simply passed off as a call / pull from Dana’s kindred. This makes the book more of historical fiction than science fiction.
On the Artwork:
The artwork felt strange, like rough angular sketches. The background / landscape scenes were painted really well (). But the human figures and expressions seem to have a grotesque quality, especially for Rufus and slave-owners. I’m not sure if this was on purpose. But I think I went in expecting more traditional artwork.
Kindred – Opening Panel
(Winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium)
I also really cannot say how true the graphic novel is to the book. I expect the actual book to be even more unflinching about the atrocities, but panels for graphic novels are limited so I’m sure there were omissions.
Rating (for the Graphic Novel): 7 out of 10
If you’re looking to read by Octavia Butler, I would recommend using the graphic novel route. But in either way, this is a tough read.
18 replies on “Kindred by Octavia Butler #VintageSciFiMonth”
I love this feature! Totally ashamed I haven’t read it, and didn’t even know it was scifi, I was thinking of it as historical novel only
Don’t worry — you can read it purely as historical fiction, the scifi elements are very limited. Hope that helps, but do make sure you are mentally prepared before starting off this one!
I had no idea there was a graphic novel version of Kindred, what a find! Sometimes a full length novel is too much of a time investment, can I ask you about how long did it take you to read the graphic novel?
Not too long — overnight. Would even run it down to 4 to 6 hours for ~200 pages, depending on your speed. Not sure how long the actual book takes!
I also didn’t know there was a graphic novel version of this novel. I’ll have to check it out sometime. Good review.
I’d recommend everyone to read it, but to read it with fair warning on what to expect.
Thanks for the heads up regarding the Graphic Novel. That might actually really be a good idea. I’ve never read anything by Octavia Butler, my bad. Such a great author with so much influence. I should really get one of hers.
Glad you are enjoying the Vintage Sci-fi month so much!
Elza Reads and TTT presents ABBA 2021
Aww, the ABBA post was awesome! It cheered me up so much. 🙂
For Butler, Kindred is the most quoted book. But I just couldn’t take up the actual book — ended up taking the graphic novel route instead.
I’m enjoying your vintage Sci-Fi posts. I love the vintage covers even though I’m not much of a Sci-Fi reader. Kindred sounds like a hard read.
To be honest, I’m not much of a scifi-reader, either. More into the fantasy fiction side. But for 2021, I wanted to change that a bit, and polish off that old monstrous TBR pile of mine. So I joined the VintageSciFiMonth wagon. Glad you liked the meme.
Re Butler’s work, yes, Kindred is a tough read. A powerful one, but tough.
I didn’t know about the graphic novel version of this book but I really want to read the novel this year, I have never read any of Butler’s novels and Kindred sounds like a powerful story.
If you read the book version, would love to know your thoughts and discuss how the graphic novel compares!
This does sound tough, but timely as well I imagine given the state of the world. The graphic novel version does sound like a good way to read this. I may have to get this. Thanks for sharing thoughts on it!
In the graphic novel, despite everything, Dana remains optimistic. And she has Kevin by her side, which is a great comfort and support for her. That is the reason the reader can also pull through. I’d recommend the book, provided you’re in the right frame of mind for it.
I haven’t read this author so far but I would like to do so eventually.
Lynn 😀
Yes, same feeling I had for finally polishing off Kindred from my bucket list!
I’ve only read one book by Octavia Butler but would definitely like to read more. I have heard that Kindred is a must read but actually I’m curious about the graphic novel version of it. Glad you recommend it!
I think it was an easier way out than reading the book — definitely the shorter way out. I want to read more of Butler but a little hesitant about it, to be honest.