Writing is hard. Writing WELL is even harder. There are some writers who devote their lives to honing their specific craft, to finding ways to excel in their chosen niche. Some write fiction, some write nonfiction. Some lean toward the literary, while others revel in genre. Some are reporters and journalists. Some write essays or memoirs or comic book arcs. A person who is able to do any one of those things well is worthy of celebration.

Ta-Nehisi Coates does ALL OF IT.

The National Book Award winner and Macarthur Genius Grant recipient has made his first foray into the realm of fiction (leaving aside his magnificent Marvel turns on Black Panther and Captain America books); his newest work is “The Water Dancer,” a heartbreakingly powerful work of historical fiction and magical realism. It’s a fictionalized exploration of one young man’s struggle with (and against) the peculiar institution that remains our country’s greatest shame.

It’s also a story about the magic of memory and the power of stories, a look at how our pasts can shape our futures and how words can change the world. It’s a tale of love lost and rediscovered, all under the looming shadow of slavery. Freedom – real freedom – comes with costs both expected and surprising, but there are many who are willing to pay all that and more.

In the mid-19th century, Hiram Walker lives in bondage – one of the Tasked. His Virginia home – and many of the others nearby – are slowly fading as years of relentless tobacco farming have turned the soil to dust. His father is the owner of the plantation, his mother sold away. That loss of his mother proves to be the only gap in his otherwise eidetic memory – a gift that leads to him finding a place away from the field and in the house of his father, serving as a valet to the young man that only Hiram and his father know is Hiram’s half-brother.

But there’s something more to Hiram’s gifts than a sharp mind and a nigh-perfect memory – a gift that might make him one of the most important of his people.

Hiram wants to run, but it’s not that simple. Before he knows it, he finds himself swept up into a maelstrom. He roams from the slowly crumbling world of the Virginia aristocracy to the shocking freedom of Philadelphia. He spends time buried beneath the earth, caged and released over and over again for reasons that he can’t possibly fathom. He encounters ideologues and zealots on both sides of the conflict between the slavers and the enslaved. Hiram becomes a vital soldier in that war – one whose gifts are apparent on the surface, even as they run far, far deeper than even he could ever have imagined.

It’s a war fought one small skirmish, a few desperate souls at a time. But there are people that Hiram left behind – and he is willing to do anything it takes to save them, even if it means plumbing the depths of his being to unleash a power that no one really understands. Not even himself.

Going into much more detail on “The Water Dancer” risks sacrificing some of the impact that comes with experiencing the narrative’s unfolding in the moment; as someone who was repeatedly struck by what he saw upon the page, I couldn’t in good conscience take that away from you.

If you’ve read anything by Coates, you already know that he is a phenomenal talent, one of the best writers of his generation, both craft-wise and conceptually. Few have captured the African-American experience as completely and captivatingly as he has; it only makes sense that his fiction would have similar sentiments to express. That’s a big part of what makes this book so powerful – the energy that Coates brings, the knowledge and the passion … it shines from every page.

“The Water Dancer” features page after page of powerful narrative rendered in sizzling, sharp prose. There’s a toothsome quality to Coates’s prose that lends itself perfectly to a story like this one, a tale of undeserved pain and power retaken. The harsh bleakness of the lives of the Tasked is rendered with unforgiving detail, while the more mystical aspects of the narrative are offered up wreathed in a gauzier, but no less meticulous manner.

This is a story of the greatest ongoing tragedy in American history, the collective shame of our past. Much of our history was built upon the backs of the enslaved; writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates are here to ensure that we never forget. Coates shines the burning beacon of his imagination onto that truth, generating a story that is a challenging mix of brutality and beauty – it is rapturously readable and straight-up compelling as hell.

It almost feels like false advertising to call “The Water Dancer” a debut novel; technically true, but also the product of a prolific and profoundly gifted writer. We’re lucky to have someone like Coates who is willing to share his gifts with us – and lucky to live in a time when he is allowed to.

What is there to say? It's an Oprah Book Club pick, so my review certainly isn't needed to help sell copies. A phenomenal read and wonderful fiction debut from Ta-Nehisi Coates. I look forward to what's next.

I am always a major fan of magical realism because that's often what real life feels like - harsh reality mixed with moments of magic and miracles. Ta-Nehisi Coates' first foray into fiction was a huge undertaking - how can a man in 2019 accurately capture what slave life was like in the 19th century? Well, this talented writer (and Oprah's pick to relaunch her force-of-nature book club) has succeeded by creating a historical fiction piece that allows the reader to walk in the shoes of a man whose life was entrenched with struggle and pain.

The story follows Hiram Walker, an African-American slave, whose white master is actually his father. His mother was sold when he was a small child, and he becomes a butler of sorts to his white brother. Coates perfectly captures the horror and violence of slavery with Hiram and a cast of well-written supporting characters, as well as the smaller but constant indignities slaves were forced to endure. He picks his own terms for this culture: "The Tasked" are the slaves and "The Quality" are the white slaveowners. This new vocabulary allows the reader to feel drawn into Coates' world, which is also a fantastical one. Hiram learns he has the power of "Conduction," - the ability to remove himself from dangerous situations.

After several horrific events take place, Hiram is drawn into the world of "The Underground," where abolitionists and freed slaves (including one famous historical figure) work to rescue those still in bondage. With the combination of realistic characters and a fantasy world where Hiram can basically teleport, this novel becomes both hyper-real and mystical - an effect that ends up enveloping the reader and making them ultimately fully invested in Hiram's fate.

My only criticism is that the book dragged in parts. Although I appreciate how this long slog is appropriate for the topic of slavery (how else should a book about this evil feel?), there were times when I wished for the action to move along a little bit more quickly.

If "The Water Dancer" is any indication of the kinds of stories Coates is inclined to tell, we're all in for a treat - his words are immensely moving, powerful, and important. (And Oprah can't be wrong, right?)

The Water Dancer starts as a heartbreaking story about Hi, a slave on a plantation in Virginia. The entire story is told in his voice as it turns into an epic journey filled with love, pain, magic and loss. A few of the chapters seem a little disjointed, as if the writer felt they needed filler and inserted some stories that would fit. Otherwise a very solid book with a great story.

Mr. Coates has done it again - produced a book I am in love with. His writing style pulls me in, and the story is enrapturing. The Water Dancer opened my mind, made me cry, and helped me see the world from another point of view. Hats off!

Coates first novel is a retelling of the efforts of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad through the device of magical realism. At the center of this story is Hiram, who is the product of a "tasked" mother and "untasked" father. While Hiram's mother is dead and he doesn't remember much of her, his father is the master of the estate on which Hiram lives and serves. As a result, Hiram struggles with his identity. At the core of this novel is the concept of how stories form and transform us. Our stories not only define us, they have the power to transport. Stories can also evoke empathy, build bridges, and strengthen relationships. Coates demonstrates this well through the plot structure and characters of this novel.

“... Virginia, where a man would profess his love for you one moment and sell you off the next.” This book tells some of the stories of the Underground Railroad and is based on “The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts” by William Still. The author created the character of the slave Hiram Walker. Hiram was the son of his mother Rose and her master Howell Walker. After Rose was sold, Hiram was taken in by Thena, who hoped that her laundry money would buy her freedom some day. Hiram soon became a house slave and was made to entertain the guests of his father/master with demonstrations of his remarkable memory. Hiram was also assigned to look after his stupid, coarse, older half brother Maynard. Hiram eventually got involved with the Underground Railroad and met the woman called Moses (Harriet Tubman). Hiram learned that he and Moses shared a power known as the Conduction. It took a while for the author to spell out exactly what the Conduction was, and how it might be useful. Apparently it was based on the strange visions reputed to have been experienced by Harriet Tubman following an injury.

This was a powerful and well written book. The author told a compelling story without melodrama, violence or sappy romance, which is certainly not always the case in books about slavery. I am not a fan of magical realism, but there was one brilliant passage as Harriet used the Conduction that was written as call-and-response. The sequence was very effective in the audio book read by Joe Morton. The author writes both fiction and nonfiction very well.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This is Coates’ first fictional novel, and it is a historical fiction set during the waning days of the slave trade in Virginia. It follows the story of Hiram Walker, a young slave whose mother was sold off the plantation by his father the slave owner. It is a coming of age stories that focuses on the destruction of families caused by slavery and explores a fantasized version of the Underground Railroad. That being said, I was not a big fan of this book. It took me FOREVER to finish it. Coates' writing is absolutely beautiful at times. But, I just felt like the story dragged on for too long. It's a long book, but not a lot happened. I'd still recommend it, mostly because everyone will be talking about it. But, it just didn't do it for me.

Joining poetry to pain, Coates has crafted a story of the weight of slavery and the tasked's role in the underground. Employing a magical element, we're given a metaphor for what freedom means to those who have only known chains. I do not believe this book needed Oprah's stamp of approval to be recognized as the masterpiece it is. Though, I suppose that hasn't hurt anything.

This book is very well written. I definitely would recommend it for my higher level readers who are mature enough. I had initially thought it was a young adult book, but realized pretty quickly that it’s not quite geared for middle schoolers. There are sentences that would be great for mentor texts, and lots of examples of imagery that would be worth pointing out during explicit instruction.

Previous to this read I was only familiar with the author's work on the comic Black Panther and his nonfiction. Like Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad and Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing, this novel although a work of fiction shines a light on real events. Until recently all I knew about this time in our history, things learned from school: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War and Harriet Tubman. You owe it to yourself to read this novel. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Ta-Nehisi Coates for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of The Water Dancer. My opinions and thoughts are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

This is a unique magical book that takes you on a journey. It is going to be hard for me to describe it or at least do it justice. It was really an experience reading it. There is a concrete story and mixed in is magical realism. I am looking forward to hearing the discussions around this book. Oprah has named it her first pick for her new book club on the Apple platform. This isn’t something I normally join, but there is so much to unpack with this story, I would appreciate other people’s perspective, more than just reading people’s reviews.

Coates is a very talented writer, as proven in all of his writings. This is his first fiction novel and I certainly hope it isn’t his last. His writing is powerful. At first, I had a hard time understanding what was happening. There were words I didn’t understand, phrases I couldn’t comprehend. I have read lots of novels depicting the slave experience but nothing like this. He uses terms like “The Quality” for slave masters and “The Tasked” for slaves. He talks about how the tasked go “The Natchez way”. It took some getting used to but eventually, things came together. I think one of the reasons it is so powerful is the beauty of the prose juxtaposed with the horrors of slavery.

This is the type of book that stays with you. It is hard to shake. You keep coming back to it, reflecting on it. I didn’t want to rush through, I wanted to be present. For those skeptical of the magical realism, don’t be. It doesn’t make the book “woo-woo” or take the seriousness away from the subject matter. I have heard some call it science fiction, it isn’t. I highly recommend this book. This is a special one.

Another selection on the September LibraryReads list is THE WATER DANCER by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Our students read and discuss Coates' award-winning Between the World and Me, but this is something very different, involving magical lights and superpowers. I was expecting more traditional historical fiction due to its Southern plantation setting and focus on the institution of slavery. Although Coates does use aspects of the historical period to explore the tension between duty to self (should one escape and make a better life) and duty to family, the novel also contains elements of fantasy and seems somewhat more akin to Colson Whitehead's writing (our students also read The Intuitionist, for example). Coates extensively researched the Underground Railroad and speaks in the video below with PBS NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown about the differences between history and myth:

embedded video from: https://www.youtube.com/embed/kuq6OG2sc7Y

Coates has an extensive tour planned; specifically in Chicago, he will be speaking at a FAN event to be held at Evanston High School on Friday, October 4 beginning at 7:00 pm. More info about Ta-Nehisi Coates and his new book is available from CBS this morning, NPR’s Fresh Air, and this New York Times review. THE WATER DANCER received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Links in live post:
https://ta-nehisicoates.com/events/
https://www.familyactionnetwork.net/events/the-water-dancer-an-evening-with-ta-nehisi-coates/
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/oprah-winfrey-announces-new-book-club-pick/
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763521268/ta-nehisi-coates-explores-the-tension-between-escape-family-in-the-water-dancer
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/books/review/water-dancer-ta-nehisi-coates.html

I have somehow still not read Between the World and Me (which is crazy considering how short it is!) but I am so so glad I read Coates' first novel. If anything, it makes me even more excited to pick up more of his non-fiction work, since his writing is absolutely gorgeous.

Coates manages to create a story that balances so many heavy topics, and gives us moments of profound thought and action, while remaining readable and even hopeful. We follow Hiram, known as Hi, from his childhood as a slave in Virginia, through to adulthood, as he discovers both his desire to be free, and a special power inherited from his grandmother that might be able to help him get there.

Throughout this book, Coates reimagines what freedom is, and through Hi and all of the unique and life-like characters he meets, shows us that it can exist on a multitude of different levels. Hi struggles with what freedom means to him throughout the book, and Coates' writing beautifully captures his moral quandaries. What I especially enjoyed about this book is how Coates so expertly captures someone growing up and maturing. We are with Hi as he is a child, and has his certain ideas about how he wants to live his life then, and as he grows up, we are treated to his innermost thoughts. Through this, I felt that I could truly see and understand how all that he had been through influences his thoughts and ideals, and changed him as a person.

Coates, as you might guess from the above, is adept at crafting a person and their story, and making them compelling and real, even when viewed through the eyes of another character. This entire story is emotional, raw, and true. Maybe not in the sense of magic, but the stories and experiences of each character just ring true. Slavery is often written about in narratives, and we understand that these horrible events were experienced by millions of people. But Coates has created a fictional experience that has made that horrific experience something real and understandable to me, at least. He has given what I have learned about in school, and even seen portrayed on screen, a sense of emotion, personal connection, and depth that makes it even more affecting than other representations.

Don't let the label of fiction trick you—this is a powerful, profound book. And while it is not a fast read, it is a gripping one, where you immediately sink into the world Coates has created. There is likely more that I could say, but I just hope that what I have managed to write will convince you to read this book! I am so excited for everyone to read this, and feel inspired to go and finally pick up Coates' nonfiction work (I have been missing out!).

I was hooked on this book with the first sentence. That sentence is a paragraph long and required several readings, but it marked my free fall into this remarkable novel.
The story starts on a plantation in Virginia sometime before the Civil War. There are the Quality - the owners and salvers, and the Tasked - the enslaved. Hiram, "Hi", is the central figure of the novel and we follow him from childhood to manhood. He is the son of a black mother and his white owner. We see the brutality and atrocities of slavery through Hiram's eyes.
If you are not a fan of magical realism read it anyway. This is an important work, we need to hear these stories. The writing is beautiful and thoughtful. Speed reading or skimming is just not possible. I was fortunate to receive an ARC from NetGalley, but after reading the book I purchased the audio and listened all the way through in two sittings(including walk abouts).
Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of Between the World and Me, a non fiction work. The Water Dancer is his debut novel.
The experience of reading this book still dances around me.
An EXCELLENT book.

“In short, we need you, Hiram—not just as Hiram the forger of letters and Hiram the running man, but as one who can return these people, our people, to the freedom given to all.”

A young man through the power of conduction shall find meaning, out of Virginia Elm Country on a journey to the Underground to be trained as an agent in the mountains of Bryceton, great becomings and finding ones purpose awaits Hiram Walker our great main protagonist to lead us with hope and courage.
Hiram who is eloquent, great with words and running too, one who at nine years old his mother was taken, he was sold at eleven and put to work like a man.
With the conduction and the Underground, empowerment and movement forward for a change, justice against injustices that were beaten out and the enslaving of man and women, thus a movement borne with a call to liberty and power through unity, education, exercise, movement, and voice.

A tale to lurk in your soul and bones with a concoction of poetic mediations and accumulative sentences with a melody of words capturing what was, had been, and to become, what is, memories of a world mentioned as “ephemera, shadows and screams.”
These words pondering on things, matters, a human condition, bondage of many kinds with wonder amazement and longings, with that great pull of memory in motion, with love requited and unrequited, hearts against all the terribleness, the stark realities and histories.
Words so well put together demanding re-read, these testaments with great importance on women, female characters with their great doings in the world, a work constructed that can compare and have a place next to the works and voice of Toni Morrison.

I've been trying to read this book for a month now and have gotten nowhere with it.

There isn't really anything wrong with this book- it's a me thing.
The writing is very lyrical and tells the story of a young boy born into slavery with plenty of smarts and some magical powers.

The thing is, I really do want to read this book, I'm very much interested in the story. But every time I go to read it, I'm bored. It's a slow read and I'm not enjoying it. Ultimately I decided to DNF this and try again at a later date when I'm more in the mood for a slow read with a hard-hitting storyline.

I'm so bummed at DNFing this as I was looking forward to reading and loving this. It's super hyped at the moment and deserves all of the praise it's getting.

DNF @50%
2.5-3 star from what I have read.

** ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley.

*Instagram post link to be updated
*video review will appear at the end of the month, link to be updated

When I saw The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates offered on Netgalley, I was intrigued. Like so many other reviewers, I had read his non-fiction articles and I wondered if his debut fiction would have the same impact. I can say without reservation - it does. It is a story about love, loss, family, and the liberating power of memory. It is a beautifully written and moving tale with descriptions that sing off the page. Combining his knowledge and insights into slavery with magical realism, Coates has created a story that is lyrical, compelling, and unputdownable while making the reader think and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first novel The Water Dancer is a sweeping, narrative of slavery, the Underground Railroad and the role of memory as seen through the eyes of Hiram Walker. Born into slavery on a tobacco plantation in Virginia, Hiram is one of the Tasked. His father is the master of Lockless, a member of the Quality. Hiram has magical powers. As he says,

I was a strange child. I talked before I walked, though I never talked much, because more than anything, I watched and remembered. I would hear other speak, but I did not so much hear them as see them, their words taking form before me as pictures, chains of colors, lines textures, and shapes that I could store inside of me.

He could remember anything he heard or saw. Except his mother, who had been sold when he was nine-years-old, and Hiram's lack of memories of his mother haunt him. Right away, that first day when he awoke and she was gone, Hiram became aware of a blue mist “illuminated from within by some course.” He came to feel that the blue mist was connected with “a secret path” that would reunite him with his mother. On the day that she was taken from him to be sold, Hiram first sensed that he had to get out.

Hiram will see that blue mist over the river Goose when the carriage he is driving for his brother and master, Maynard, and Maynard’s “fancy.” They were on their way back to the plantation, Lockless, when the carriage fell into the river Goose, drowning all but Hiram. As this happened, he saw his mother dancing on the bridge with an earthen jar balanced on her head, just as others had described her.

Eventually, Hiram managed to escape Lockless and with the help of the Underground Railroad he went to Philadelphia. He became a member of the resistance, doing research and forging documents to help rescue slaves.

In Philadelphia, "The Conductions were more frequent now", when the world would fall away and then he would return only to find himself in basements, fields, alleys. It was as though he was learning to master the power of Conduction. “The summoning of a story, the water, and the object that made memory real as brick: that was Conduction.” Hiram’s grew determined to return to Lockless to bring out Thena, the woman who became like his mother after his own mother was sold, as well as his Sophia, the woman whom he loves.

He attended a meeting of abolitionists where he meets Harriet Tubman. She became his mentor, “..she was our Moses..” “‘We forgot nothing you and I,’ Harriet said. ‘To forget is to truly slave. To forget is to die.’” And “‘To remember, friend,” she said. ‘For memory is the chariot, and memory is the way, and memory is bridge from the curse of slavery to freedom.’”

Often elusive, The Water Dancer is beautifully written, and I found myself highlighting passages throughout the book as well as being mesmerized.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing a galley for me to read ahead of publication. All quotes were checked against the published book for accuracy.

Every Book Its Reader, Every Reader Its Book, but this is Book is not for this reader. The writing is beautiful, and the story is important, but the combination of the fantasy elements, and the vast number of different characters to keep straight, really made it difficult for me to follow this book. I also felt that the pacing was slow. I kept waiting for the story to "pick up", and at times a big thing would happen, and I'm like THIS IS IT!! and then it went right back to the slow story. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of this era historical fiction, and/or magical realism, this book is definitely for you.