THE WATER DANCER

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I should have listened to my friend Carolyn who, over six months ago, told me I should read The Water Dancer; that our book club should read it; that Coates’ writing was poetic.  She was so right.  Now I am recommending that all of you read this beautifully written and expertly crafted debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates.  

The Water Dancer tells Hiram Walker’s story:  born a slave on a Virginia plantation; unable to remember his mother who was sold away when he was young; possessed with the remarkable ability to remember any story he’s ever heard and repeat it verbatim.  As Hiram grows, he vows to escape from the plantation and track down his mother and other relatives who were ripped away from him and each other.  Coates weaves a story of many layers. Hiram finds himself being tutored with the plantation owner’s son.  We come to realize that the owner is actually his father.  The tutor turns out to be involved in a movement to free slaves from their southern plantations.  And perhaps most interesting, Hiram discovers he has a mysterious power which,  if he could only figure out how to harness it, might lead him to freedom.

Hiram endures many long years of unimaginable cruelty and hardships but does make it to freedom and a new life in Philadelphia. He becomes very much involved with the Underground Railroad.  In a surprising and gut-wrenching twist, he chooses to return to his plantation in order to free those loved ones he had left behind. This is how Hiram truly claims his freedom.  He, not someone else, decides to stake his own freedom on reuniting his family. “The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.” (flap copy)  I could not agree more. This is a must read. (Liz)