The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Book Review

The Water Dancer follows the life of Hiram Walker, a black man born into bondage on his white father’s Virginia plantation. After nearly dying in an accident, Hiram is saved by a mysterious force. Part historical fiction, part mystical realism, the story follows Hiram’s experience as a member of “the Tasked” from boyhood to adulthood and details his journey to discover and harness the power that once saved his life in pursuit of freedom.
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⁣The book is beautifully written, though I did find the story a bit slow at times. Nevertheless, I think this is an important and meaningful read as it gives the reader a glimpse at not just the physical atrocities of slavery, but also the psychological effects of the institution on both the enslaved (“the Tasked”) and the enslavers (“the Quality”).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
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✨⁣“They knew our names and they knew our parents. But they did not know us, because not knowing was essential to their power. To sell a child right from under his mother, you must know that mother only in the thinnest way possible. To strip a man down, condemn him to be beaten, flayed alive, then anointed with salt water, you cannot feel him the way you feel your own. You cannot see yourself in him, lest your hand be stayed, and your hand must never be stayed, because the moment it is, the Tasked will see that you see them, and thus see yourself. In that moment of profound understanding, you are all done, because you cannot rule as is needed.”✨