The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a captivating and important novel told from the point of view of Hiram Walker, a young enslaved man and son of the white master of a tobacco plantation in Virginia. The story depicts Hiram’s involvement with the Underground Railroad (he even meets Harriett Tubman!) with a dose of magical realism in the form of “conduction,” Hiram’s ability to transport himself to a distant place.

First off: the prose is beautiful. I loved the characters, especially the fact that ALL of them—from the enslaved people to the white masters to the various conductors of the Underground Railroad, white and black—were complex and three dimensional. No cartoon villains or heroes—these people feel real. The story focuses on the devastating effect of slavery on families. I already knew that white masters would separate mothers from children, husbands from wives, brothers from sisters, but this novel emphasized the devastation it caused on the entire social structure and sense of identity of generations of black Americans. I also loved that Coates recognized that enslaved women bore an extra weight: their bodies were used not only for free labor but also for sex. Over the course of the novel, Hiram grows to understand that even if he were to “free” the woman he loves, marriage could be a kind of slavery, too, if he doesn’t recognize her as an individual in her own right.

For me, the magical realism was the weakest part of the story and I was more interested in the characters and their growth. The pacing also dragged in the middle after a strong first half. These are minor quibbles, however, and I give this a very strong recommendation!

(Thanks Netgalley for a digital copy. I loved it so much I ordered the hardcover.)

I admit at the beginning I wanted to know how Coates was going to write a book that, in essence, bears a remarkable similarity to Whitehead's The Underground Railroad. Here again we have an imaginative take, a little magical realism at least, on what the underground railroad was and what it meant. But this is a very different book. The gritty reality of slavery is still here, but painted with an impressionistic brush rather than wallops with a cat of nine. And the narrator here goes through a journey to the North and back, because the South and the land of the Tasked doesn't disappear, or leave the body or mind or soul. I found this extremely lyrical and after a chapter or two of acclimatization, an easy read that dealt with many less-easy ideas. The two books are parallels in many ways, but end up going in different directions. I will say I found the denouement of The Water Dancer shockingly swift after the slow build of so much of the book- and it left me wondering a great deal about what would happen next. But that's another story, I suppose. Five (qualified but beautifully written) stars.

The Water Dancer is a novel about Hiram Walker, a slave in pre-emancipation Virginia. So, it reads like other novels about slavery that I've read. But it's more.
The characters are clearly drawn. You wind up caring about some of them and hating others. But it's not just good vs. evil, black vs. white. There are good white people and bad black people.
It's not just the story of one slave's experience or one plantation's people. It's the story of slavery in this country. What white people, masters, gained is spelled out. But, you also see what they lost in the process. What the slaves lost is obvious, but what they had as a community and as a people is woven through the book.
Don't want to be a spoiler, but there is a fantasy facet as well. And one very well-known abolishionist makes more than a cameo appearance.
I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading. I had read Ta-Nehesi Coates before, so I thought I knew what this book would be. It blew me away; it was so much more.

After reading his non-fiction work, I had to read his debut into fiction. This book was lyrical, imaginative, and hard hitting. The magical elements really drew me in and it was interesting to read from a perspective that I don’t see often in fiction. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

First off I want to say thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year to read. For the first and honestly only good news about this books is the way the words fly off the page. Other than that, not a whole lot goes on here. Nothing in the plot kept me entertained enough to fully read the book. I feel so bad because I wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. Still thank you tho NetGalley

I absolutely love The Water Dancer. Such a great book for this day and age; where we forget what racism was like way back when. TaNahesi Coates is exceptional. I love his writing, so lyrical and poetic but also extremely real. I love that he wrote a character who, while his father was white, was a slave and who was treated so differently on the basis of skin. It didn't matter that his father was white, it mattered that he appeared black. Such a portrait of family in a time from which we evolved, but have not resolved.

I just was not ready for Coates' first book. I wasn't ready for the prose. The candor. The vivid storytelling. This book did not disappoint. I am bereft of words as I am still processing, but I would highly recommend it.

The Water Dancer is a moving fiction debut from Coates. The novel is lyrical and beautifully written. It's difficult to read because the history of slavery is a painful one, and Coates has created an absorbing story that confronts us with the psychological effects of slavery.

I read and enjoyed Coates' previous nonfiction book, Between The World and Me, so I was looking forward to his fiction debut. However, I could hardly get past the first few pages of this book. Maybe I'm not in the right mind to read such prose, but the sentences were so long and convoluted that it was hard to extract any information (or enjoyment) out of it. His writing style veered this way in his nonfiction, but trying to follow a storyline and get to know a cast of characters, it was laborious and impossible.

A wonderfully written story with a unique twist that centers on a time in history that has been reviewed and reviled by many authors. This book is not only good, it is elevated by the quality of the writing and the skillful manner in which Ta-Nehisi Coates tells the story of Hiram. A life lived first in slavery and later in the battle against slavery blends the violence of the era with the first person narration to bring readers into the story. This is not my usual genre but this author has taken me on an emotional roller coaster with this story of a life well lived.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an amazing non-fiction writer. I usually read his books slowly because I want to make sure I have time to take them in and process what he's teaching readers. His fiction was good but it was slow enough that I wonder if it would have been better served as non-fiction instead. But he is an amazing writer and I'll continue to read all of his work

The parts of this book that are good are very good . . . the beginning pulled me right in, the descriptions of the brutality and hopelessness of slavery, the plans of escape and the use of a bit of magical realism. And yet I did not love this book and found that I had to force myself to pick it up and finish it. It's a difficult subject and that made it hard to read but it's also that I never really connected with the characters and I also felt like it went on too long. Coates has written some amazing non-fiction and this is his first foray into fiction. I think he's got great potential to write a fantastic novel, this just wasn't it for me.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is a marvelous book that blends fantasy and realism into a new whole. It is beautifully written and the characters are fully formed. I would recommend it to everyone.

When Oprah recommends a book, you better listen up. That's become a bit of a cliché, but it's true in this case. The Water Dancer really transported me back into that time and mindset of slavery. The author's attention to detail is impeccable. I didn't really foresee the fantasy aspect of the main character being able to transport himself through water. It lost a star for me personally for that, but that was really my own expectation. While I wasn't a fan of that, I still very much enjoyed this book.

This is my first Ta-Nehisi Coates book and it will not be the last. The prose is lyrical, haunting, and honest. As heartbreaking and real so many elements of this story are, I'm surprised to know I'll read this book over and over again. One pass is not enough to unpack all the truths the author packed into the pages of this magical work of fiction.

A must-read. Instantly placed in my all-time top 3 reads.

I love Ta-Nehisi Coates. Something about his writing can do no wrong for me. I'm so glad he's finally made the jump into fiction and I'm hoping he keeps going because this was fantastic!

I really wanted—and fully expected—to love this book: I loved Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” and was intrigued that another writer I admire was turning his attention to the same historical period and slavery narrative. And at times I really did love it—the character of Hiram, the enslaved, brilliant son of his white owner who becomes a manservant to his dullard half-brother Maynard, is beautifully developed and written, and Hiram’s relationship with Thena, the embittered older woman who takes him into her care after Hiram’s mother Rose is sold “down Natchez way” is nuanced and lovely. The book’s early scenes, set at the ironically named Lockless plantation where Hiram labors alongside the other “Tasked” to serve the “Quality,” are interesting and well observed, managing to convey the horror of slavery without resorting to graphic depictions of violence, (The situation with Hiram’s love interest Sophia brought a particularly ugly aspect of slavery into focus, and a scene where a mother walks in anguish alongside her chained son as he is sold and sent south was one of the most heart wrenching I have ever read.)

But then Hiram is involved in an escape attempt that is not exactly successful, and which sets the book on another path which, though still interesting, was less believable and worked less well for me as narrative. Part of my issue was the magical realism that repeatedly surfaced in the story—the concept of “water dancing” was just too vague to be compelling as a plot device yet Hiram’s attempts to harness this power are supposed to provide suspense and move the story forward. There’s still much to like about the book in this later section—I particularly enjoyed the scenes set among the free black society in Philadelphia, which I knew little about before and which Coates made come alive for me—but in general “The Water Dancer” became a little meandering and hard to stick with by this point.

I know it’s not fair to compare “The Water Dancer” to “The Underground Railroad,” but it’s hard to resist when both are stories of escapes from slavery via the Underground Railroad with elements of magical realism. In the end, Whitehead’s fiction experience gives him the edge and produced a much more compelling book for me, but I’ll still be looking for Coates’ next foray into fiction. 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and One World/Random House for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I'm embarrassed it took me so long to read this book. I started as soon as I received the ARC (Thank you NetGalley), but it was so heavy. I needed to be at a mental place to take in all this book had to offer.

Once I was ready, my soul was captured. The language of this book is just as beautiful as the story itself. As the reader, we become Hiram, the main character. This is pain people lived through and in my white privilege, it is just another example of a load others have to bare.

I'm glad this book exists. Read it. Take time. And then remember the past and please - let it help you make the future better.

I finished THE WATER DANCER yesterday after reading along and discussing with the @oprahsbookclub posts over October - what an incredible reading experience! Slowing down and having a dedicated team pitch curated questions that really engage with the text was incredible and really enhanced how I engaged with this book.

The story itself took a little time to settle in for me, but just before it hit the half way point things started falling into place and I could see where the narrative was going and what Coates was engaging the reader in with his imagery and use of nouns particularly. The prose was stunning and loaded with meaning, with commentaries on history and slavery told through reflections on memory and what family means. I’ve seen many reviews that critique the use of magical realism in the narrative, but for me this worked exceptionally well.

I’d avoid reading too much about this one going in because I think the power of the narrative is in allowing Hiram and the other characters in this sweep you up in their story. Definitely one to buddy read or pick for a bookclub as there is so much to discuss and reflect on in this! I’ve also ordered a copy of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD RECORDS (with an introduction by Coates) by William Still for some further reading during #nonfictionnovember, and for some historical context of the family Coates was inspired by in writing this novel.

This was a very unique and creative way to tell a story about slavery. This topic is widely written about, and something we all study in history, so I have some preconceived ideas going in. But I think the fantastical element of Conduction really made the story stand out and brought a larger sense of hope to a slave's tale.
The story is about Hiram who was born on a slave plantation in Virginia. He doesn't remember his mother because she died when he was young, but she was know by all for her water dancing. Another interesting detail about Hiram is that his father was actually the plantation owner, which he know growing up and it gives him an interesting sense of place in the white vs. black world.
I normally don't read stories about slavery because there is so much brutality and violence. This story has its fair share of horrible occurrences in the life of Hiram, but the magic also creates a spectacular joy to an otherwise very sad and dark part of history.