This is an excellent book. Unlike most of Butler's other work (Which I haven't read, but do plan to.), this novel is not Science Fiction. Rather, it's a very well done neo-slave narrative that uses time travel as its MacGuffin. How the time travel works, and the reasons behind it, are inconsequential to the larger picture. 
 I won't waste your time with the blurb--you can read it yourself. 
 The writing in Kindred is sparse and matter-of fact, and at times, I wished I could get a little more insight into what the other characters thought of Dana's comings and goings... but as the novel went on, the pointed prose seemed ever more fitting. Butler's word choice may have been brief, but it hit me in the gut. Now, as I skim back over the pages to catch key passages, I feel them more potently than ever. 
 Butler puts the reader right where they don't want to be, and she's not afraid confront some of the biggest problems with the modern day depiction of American slavery. I was especially struck by a few specific passages. (view spoiler)[For one, the way Dana's education and knowledge of history do not save her from the consequences of her actions. For another, her modern-day frustration with depictions such as films (recalled during the beating in "The Fire") and books like Gone With the Wind. Finally, the contrast between Dana and Kevin, for although Kevin spends a longer time, subjectively, in the past, he is still insulated from the ramifications by virtue of his race and gender. (hide spoiler)] 
 Something happened in the final pages, all the threads coming together, leaving me slightly uneasy, running back over everything in my head. The contrasts and similarities, between past and present, between Dana's blue-collar job and life on an antebellum plantation, and between the two white men in her life, were riveting. 
 Eloquently written and wonderfully crafted. If you haven't read this yet, I highly encourage you to do so.