Kindred could not have ended any other way; the power of being unpredictable and inevitable.
Kindred is a novel in which you spend a lot of time wanting to read ahead– finish just another page– to get over the cliffhanger. Nonetheless, there’s an inevitable quality to the novel’s conclusion, and really everything that happens. Of course Rufus didn’t send Dana’s letters to Kevin. Of course Dana had to use her knife. Of course Rufus had to die. Of course Hagar was born. Chekhov’s gun has to go off once introduced; and it always does. The inevitability of this novel’s events are due to foreshadowing. However, thanks to distractions, the readers are kept guessing on what’s to come, and the novel stays unpredictable. The book ended with a few main conclusions: Dana survived, Hagar was born (of rape no less), Dana had to use her knife, Rufus wanted Dana, and the others were not free. All of these conclusions felt inevitable. For Dana’s knife, it’s almost like Chekhov’s gun in the sense that once it was presented, as well as the dangers that told her she could face it (42-43...