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Andy

Andy asked Colson Whitehead:

Hi! One of the subtle yet extremely powerful motifs in the novel is the invocation to look out the windows and see America. This is interesting in itself as well as in how rail travel reshaped aesthetics of landscape. Would you say a bit more about what those passage and/or that motif invoke for you now? I'm not necessarily asking for your intended meaning so much as what you might see in these passages now.

Colson Whitehead There's a lot about "seeing" in the book. Cora watches the square in NC, she is watched the fields and in the museum...I finished the book so recently that I'm still engaged with it as its creator. But sometimes different meanings creep into a work over time, so we'll see!

More Answered Questions

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Colson Whitehead:

Hi! Just finished your book, and loved it. Why did you decide to have a woman as your main character? Did you feel this allowed you to do something special with the character? What would have been different - if anything - if the hero was a man?

Anatole

Anatole asked Colson Whitehead:

Was it a conscious decision to begin The Underground Railroad in a more realistic style and only introduce the fantastical elements later, or did that develop organically as you began writing the novel?

Rambling Reader

Rambling Reader asked Colson Whitehead:

What's your plans after this novel? It will make you very rich now that your movel is an Oprah pick.

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