Is this book part of a series or a standalone novel?

This work is a standalone novel and does not require reading any other books to understand the story.

Are there any adaptations of this book?

The novel has been adapted into a graphic novel illustrated by John Jennings and Damian Duffy, as well as a television series that premiered on Hulu in 2022.

Is the story based on true events or real people?

While the book is a work of fiction and not a historical account, the author conducted extensive research to ensure the narrative reflects the material realities and social structures of the antebellum South.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Dana, a Black woman living in 1970s California, is inexplicably pulled back in time to the antebellum South. She finds herself repeatedly summoned to save the life of Rufus, a young white boy on a plantation. With each journey, her stays become longer and more perilous, forcing her to confront the brutal realities of slavery and question her own survival.

Prose complexity: 7/10

Dark Tense Emotional Thought-Provoking Reflective

Forced Proximity Survival Time Loop Fish Out of Water

O

Octavia E. Butler

An American science fiction writer, one of the best-known among the few African-American women in the field. [Comment by Tricia Sullivan, on The Guardian][1]: Octavia E Butler (1947–2006) > I was teaching in New York when I came across Octavia E Butler's Kindred in a secondary-school catalogue of novels recommended to support diversity. It caught my attention because Butler was described as a science-fiction writer. I thought I was familiar with science fiction, but I'd never heard of her...

Dana FranklinProtagonist

A Black writer from 1970s Los Angeles who is repeatedly pulled back in time to the antebellum Maryland plantation where her white ancestor Rufus Weylin lives.

All characters in Kindred

Frequently asked questions

Is this book part of a series or a standalone novel?
This work is a standalone novel and does not require reading any other books to understand the story.
Are there any adaptations of this book?
The novel has been adapted into a graphic novel illustrated by John Jennings and Damian Duffy, as well as a television series that premiered on Hulu in 2022.
Is the story based on true events or real people?
While the book is a work of fiction and not a historical account, the author conducted extensive research to ensure the narrative reflects the material realities and social structures of the antebellum South.