I never got around to reporting on my last f2f sci-fi discussion group meeting, discussing "Kindred". (Modern black woman writer Dana keeps getting pulled back through time to rescue her ancestor Rufus, white slave owner in the early 1800s, from death, so the next generation can be conceived.) Many of you have read it, but some interesting points were made. People who had already read some first hand accounts of freed slaves said that this did a much better job of telling them what being a slave was really like, because it shows slavery through the eyes of a modern woman, with her reactions and expectations, so the contrast is glaring. Also, the freed slaves were writing with the literary and moral conventions of the time--stilted language, being apologetic about being raped, etc, which made it seem less real.
The conversation also brought out something that I now see is a recurring theme in Butler's books--the ways that men and women exercise power over each other. Rufus does a sort of gaming with his slaves, and once he really takes in what is going on with Dana's mysterious appearances, he does it with her too, as she does with him. they both need each other, and use the need to get what they want. I realize that Butler's "Wild Seed", which I read a long time ago, had this theme too. It seems to me that mostly Butler's women get the worse deal, though Dana comes out ahead in the end.
Many were horrified at the compromises slaves had to make to survive, and some couldn't finish the book. Most of them are pretty tough, too.
