The Water Dancer
The New York Times Bestseller
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4.3 • 111 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLER
Lose yourself in this stunning debut novel - the unmissable historical story of injustice and redemption that resonates powerfully today
'One of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. I haven't felt this way since I first read Beloved . . .' Oprah Winfrey, OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK
Hiram Walker is a man with a secret, and a war to win. A war for the right to life, to family, to freedom.
Born into bondage on a Virginia plantation, he is also born gifted with a mysterious power that he won't discover until he is almost a man, when he risks everything for a chance to escape. One fateful decision will carry him away from his makeshift plantation family and into the heart of the underground war on slavery...
'A transcendent work from a crucial political and literary artist' Diana Evans
'I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates' Toni Morrison
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When Oprah announced The Water Dancer as her Book Club pick, she explained that “through the world of magical realism, the book allows us to experience what it felt like to be enslaved.” We couldn’t agree more: Every era has its essential truth tellers and we’re lucky to live in the time of Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has an unparalleled gift for illuminating the shame of racism in America. With his stunning first novel, Coates displays the same gift of storytelling he has brought to non-fiction. (The impactful Between the World and Me won the 2015 National Book Award in the U.S..) The Water Dancer follows Hiram Walker, an enslaved man in Virginia who is both scrutinized and celebrated for his intellect. When Hiram is captured during an escape attempt, he discovers an unexpected kind of freedom. As always, Coates is fluent in the devastating poetry of unspeakable loss, but he invests Walker’s journey with moments of wonder and possibility. This sweeping epic is a story of nearly unfathomable brutality that’s seeded with hope—and even joy.
Customer Reviews
A beautiful and powerful read. A belief that could be, why not. Riveting.
Sad, emotional, painful and thought provoking couldn’t put it down.
It is just amazing
This is a must read book! Absolutely brilliant. One of the best novels I got my hands on to.