Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, by Damian Duffy

Perhaps you have read Octavia Butler's 1979 novel Kindred.  If you haven't you should!  Butler tells the story of an African-American woman who is mysteriously and repeatedly transported to the antebellum south.  When a white boy who turns out to be an ancestor of hers is in danger, she is whisked through time to assist him.  Her life becomes tumultuous because she can't predict when she will be taken.

Damian Duffy has adapted Kindred as a graphic novel, with a satisfying result.  It's been long enough since I read Kindred that I can't tell you if Duffy is faithful to the original in all the details.  In the spirit and story of it, though, he certainly is faithful to Butler's work.  The art makes it more graphic--well, it is a graphic novel--so that the disturbing content of the novel is brought colorfully to life.

Both Kindred and Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation are worth your time.  The story is a stark reminder of the not-so-distant past of slavery, and the heroic lives many slaves led in order to protect their children and their future.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!