Book Review: Kindred By Octavia E Butler

Book Review:

Kindred

by Octavia E. Butler

A colleague recommended Kindred to me, and I’ll admit I wasn’t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster Octavia E. Butler had waiting. I thought I was picking up a simple sci-fi novel, but what I got was a gut-punching, time-traveling journey that had me flipping pages late into the night.

The story follows Dana, a young Black woman living in 1976 Los Angeles, who suddenly finds herself being pulled back in time to the early 1800s. Each time she lands, she’s on a Maryland plantation, face-to-face with slavery and survival. The reason for these trips? To protect Rufus, a white ancestor of hers, whose survival ensures Dana’s own existence in the future.

Reading this as a Black woman hit differently. I could feel Dana’s fear, her anger, and her constant negotiation between survival and dignity. The way Butler writes her not as a flawless heroine, but as a human being trying to navigate impossible choices made her story so real.

Dana reminded me of conversations I’ve had with my grandmother and aunties about strength, resilience, and what it means to carry history inside you.

What I love most is how Butler blends genres. Kindred isn’t just science fiction or historical fiction it’s both, and it’s neither. It’s a mirror.

It asks us to look at the brutality of slavery, not as something distant, but as something that still shapes our lives and identities today.

And the ending? No spoilers here, but let’s just say I closed the book with a lump in my throat and a deeper appreciation for the weight of ancestry.

I would recommend Kindred to anyone Black, white, young, old, sci-fi lover or not.

For me, it wasn’t just a novel; it was a reminder of how storytelling can bridge past and present in the most haunting, unforgettable way.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 and a heartfelt thank you to my colleague who knew this was exactly the book I needed.)