First read of 2025, and an instant favourite! Totally understand why this is shelved as a classic. 

I’ve never quite read a book like Kindred. Butler does a phenomenal job creating internal and external tension between her characters, and very bravely explores the complex and nuanced relationships that existed between slaves and masters during ~1800s slavery. The characters’ interactions and internal conflicts are fascinating and she really contemplates the “quiet” aspects of slavery including people who were the product of slavery- and without it, wouldn’t be alive. A bold and risky approach at the time of writing, and I applaud Butler for it. 

Butler generally is known for her science fiction, but I’ve never seen time travel done like this. I love that she makes it a fixture of the story - she doesn’t explain how or why it’s happening, it’s just a mechanic of the world and readers come to accept it. For that, I wouldn’t consider it a science fiction book!