In order to get more accurate results, our search has the following Google-Type search functionality:
If you use '+' in front of a word, then that word will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry +Potter will return results with the word 'Potter'.
If you use '-' in front of a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry -Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
If you use 'AND' between two words, then both of those words will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry AND Potter will return results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'OR' between two words, then bth of those words may or may not be present in the search results.
ex: Harry OR Potter will return results with just 'Harry', results with just 'Potter' and results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'NOT' before a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry NOT Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
Placing '""' around words will perform a phrase search. The search results will contain those words in that order.
ex: "Harry Potter" will return any results with 'Harry Potter' in them, but not 'Potter Harry'.
Using '*' in a word will perform a wildcard search. The '*' signifies any number of characters. Searches can not start with a wildcard.
ex: Pot*er will return results with words starting with 'Pot' and ending in 'er'. In this case, 'Potter' will be a match.
Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad, explores the brutality of the United States’ history of slavery through the story of a runaway slave, Cora. Growing up on a Georgia plantation, Cora is left alone in the world when her mother flees the misery and violence that characterises life as a slave. Eventually, with fellow-slave Caesar, Cora makes her own escape on an underground rail network that has been established to take runaways to potential freedom in the northern states.
What follows is a tense chase through the southern states of the US as Cora is pursued by slave-catcher Ridgeway. The novel creates a palpable sense of tension as Cora, though free from her shackles, must be constantly on guard and wary about who she can trust. Whitehead deftly plays with the narrative’s temporality, jumping backwards and forwards in time to great effect, and knowing exactly when to reveal certain plot details to maximise their power. The Underground Railroad brings a wholly new element to that great symbol of freedom in American literature—the railroad.