Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

This is probably Octavia E. Butler's most famous book, and while I wouldn't rank it as her best work it is certainly very good.  The time travel premise is a clever reversal of the cliché of a man going back in time to murder his ancestor: the protagonist Dana has to go back in time to protect her (at least partly) despicable ancestor Rufus.  The love-hate relationship between Dana and Rufus is fascinating, although the supporting cast is a bit weak - in particular, it is difficult to tell the various slaves apart.

As a commentary on slavery, Kindred is very interesting.  Butler effectively conveys how the slaves' plight went so much deeper than the beatings and physical deprivations.  Even worse were the cruel dilemmas slavery imposed on blacks, exemplified by Dana having to go along with the system and keep Rufus alive in order to save herself.  She watches the other slaves similarly forego any slim chance at escape for the sake of their mates or children, even knowing that they might be sold off later.

Just as bad was the moral corruption of whites raised in the antebellum South, trained by the system to manipulate their slaves in horrible ways, such as selling off all a slave woman's children but one so that her need to protect the remaining child would keep her in line.  Rufus was arguably a kind-hearted kid when Dana met him, as evidenced by his death wish, but is inexorably twisted by the system in which he lives.  He honestly believes he cares for Dana and her ancestor Alice, yet cannot restrain himself from beating and raping them.  Butler has a remarkable degree of sympathy for this evil man, knowing that in different circumstances he could have been a decent human being.