Ta-Nehisi Coates
2020-11-17
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.
“This potent book about America’s most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.”—San Francisco Chronicle
IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, directed by Nia DaCosta, and produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films
NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • Vanity Fair • Esquire • Good Housekeeping • Paste • Town & Country • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.
So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.
This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children—the violent and capricious separation of families—and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of today’s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.
Praise for The Water Dancer
“Ta-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me. So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectations—and then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . What’s most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.”—Rolling Stone
Ta-Nehisi Coates has gifted us with 'The Water Dancer', a poignant narrative that combines historical fiction with elements of fantasy. The story follows Hiram Walker, a man with a special ability to navigate the Underground Railroad, which offers a fresh perspective on the struggle for freedom. Coates masterfully blends the harsh realities of slavery with the mystical aspects of his protagonist's power. It's a compelling exploration of identity, history, and the power of memory that resonated deeply with me.
A departure from my usual fare, 'The Water Dancer' introduces a magical realism element to the harrowing reality of slavery. Coates weaves a tale that is as much about the supernatural as it is about the human spirit's resilience. While it ventures into territories less familiar to me, the book's exploration of identity, history, and the quest for freedom is profoundly moving and thought-provoking. It's a testament to the power of literature to expand our horizons.
Honestly, Coates' debut novel is a game-changer. It's got this unique blend of magical realism and the harsh realities of slavery that I haven't seen before. It's poetic in parts, and the emotional beats hit like a freight train. Definitely a different vibe than what I usually go for, but it's expanded my horizons. The protagonist's journey is raw, and it's refreshing to see a narrative that's not just about survival but about the quest for identity and community.
This novel offers a fresh take on the antebellum South through the lens of a unique protagonist with a mystical gift. Coates expertly weaves historical fiction with elements of magical realism, creating a narrative that's both gripping and thought-provoking. The exploration of memory and the collective trauma of slavery is handled with sensitivity and depth, making it a compelling read.
