The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Telling the story of Hiram Walker, who is escaping from a life of bondage and slavery in Virginia via the Underground Railroad, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the horrors, torture, and cruelty innocent “tasked” black people were subjected to at the hands of “quality” and “low” whites in 19th Century America.

Having recently read The Underground Railroad, this was a subject matter that was fresh in my mind, and despite the two novels telling similar stories, they both stand apart as necessary and unique ways of approaching a retelling of history.

While Colson Whitehead chose to tell his story of liberation through the lens of a series of imaginary stations and trains, Coates introduces the concept of Conduction, which brings forth the power of memory, and it’s importance in processing and freeing those in bondage from the collective past - remembrance as a form of catharsis, and the redemption of love is a central theme of this novel. In a sense, Coates is performing a form of conduction with the writing of this novel, as it was inspired by historical records, and Hiram meets historical figures such as Harriet Tubman - who also possesses the power of conduction.

Whilst I didn’t love this novel as much as I’d hoped - perhaps due to its length, and initial slow build toward action - I would still recommend The Water Dancer to anyone as an important piece of writing that deserves to be read in order to better understand humanity; both the horrors it is capable of inflicting, and the strengths it can possess. With this, his debut novel, Ta-Nehisi Coates has, without a doubt, created a stunning, relevant, and necessary work of art.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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