Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks
Audiobooks by Black Authors
Celebrate our 10th Anniversary with giveaways, merch, and more!
Learn more
Bookseller pick
Send as gift
Add to Wish List
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
This month only!
Become a member and shop our members-only, 10th anniversary buy-one-get-one sale in support of local bookstores.
Get startedKindred
Narrator
Kim Staunton
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn more
Length
10 hours 54 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“A beautiful story of the complex heritage of Dana, a Black woman who mysteriously gets transported from the 1970s to the early 1800 antebellum south where she is faced with saving the white son of a plantation owner from drowning. Throughout, Dana journeys back and forth from present to past, and each of her stays in the past grows longer and more dangerous. Sci-fi mixed with historical fiction, this is a well-written, must-read, emotional story. ”
— Jeanie • Ruby's Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This was my first time reading Octavia Butler. To say I was unprepared for the character study and journey she would take me on would be a great understatement. Dana, a black woman living in 1970s California mysteriously travels back in time (repeatedly) to the antebellum South and must find a way to stay put in her own time with as little damage to her spirit as possible. This study of nature vs. nurture, first person narrative of an enslaved person, and existential crisis of time travel was fascinating - I will be reading this book again. ”
— Alecia • Wallflower Bookshop
Summary
The first science fiction written by a Black woman, Kindred has become a cornerstone of Black American literature. This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a novel of rich literary complexity. Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning white boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes the challenge she's been given: to protect this young slaveholder until he can father her own great-grandmother. Author Octavia E. Butler skillfully juxtaposes the serious issues of slavery, human rights, and racial prejudice with an exciting science fiction, romance, and historical adventure. Kim Staunton's narrative talent magically transforms the listener's earphones into an audio time machine.
