Erin's Reviews > The Water Dancer

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review

If you've never experienced the beautiful magic of Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing, it's time to add him to your TBR. In his first steps into fiction, Coates brings us the tale of Hiram(Hi) Walker, a slave on a Virginia plantation in the mid-1800's. With little to no memory of his mother and the property of his white father, the owner of the plantation, Hiram soon finds himself called to the big house to serve his half brother Maynard. As the boys grow, an incident will occur that will show Hiram his true inheritance and set him on a path towards freedom.

I read this one at a fairly slow pace. A choice I made on purpose because of the seriousness of the subject matter. Coates shows the brutality of slavery, the dehumanizing nature in which people were "Tasked" and if they misbehaved or tried to escape were sold and sent "Natchez way."

A novel that I eagerly anticipated and one which I hope many will pick up and join the conversation.


Goodreads review published 02/09/19
Publication Date 24/09/19