The Water Dancer
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer follows the story of Hiram Walker, a young Tasked man living in the corrupt Virginia plantations. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her, but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.
The book follows his journey from the coffin of the Deep South to the utopia of the North. But his determination to save the family he left behind brings him back to the place he didn’t think he’d see again in his lifetime.
I wouldn’t have initially picked up this book, but book clubs often take you outside your reading comfort zone, which is why I like them so much. The Water Dancer tackles uncomfortable topics and deals with an awful part of North America’s history: slavery. This is one of the reasons it’s such an important book. We as a society like to think slavery was centuries ago and no longer impact our world today, but that’s just not true. The effects still linger and racism is ever present, no matter the country you live in.
One of the themes that really caught my attention was family. The loss of Hiram’s birth mother put him in the path of Thena, a fellow slave who watched her children be sold and has left her with bitter scars. Together, they make their own new family, one whose bonds are tested throughout the book. Thena has many powerful lines in the story. One that especially sticks out is how she claimed she was more of a mother to Hiram than Howell Walker, the estate’s owner, was a father to him.
Which brings me to the next interesting part of Hiram’s family, his father. It’s no secret masters had relations with their slaves, but it brings a complexity to Hiram’s life. He’s torn between wanting a relationship with the man who sold his mother and his dreams of one day being caretaker to the estate he was raised on, one that will go to his unqualified half-brother, merely because of his skin colour.
It’s even more interesting when you read further in the book and come to realize that Hiram’s love interest, Sophia, has given birth to a little girl named Caroline through her unwanted relations with Nathaniel Walker, Hiram’s uncle. Hiram is forced to confront his resentment and anger, his judgements and desires, in order to make it work with the woman he loves and have the family he’s always wanted.
Coates’ decision to add in a bit of fantasy with Hiram’s water dancing wasn’t what I was expecting. To blend history and fantasy in this way was a good option, though, since it added something new and it worked well within the confines of history. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.
For lovers of historical books, especially ones about slavery and the Underground Railroad, this is definitely the book for you.
The Water Dancer Rating: ★★★★
The book follows his journey from the coffin of the Deep South to the utopia of the North. But his determination to save the family he left behind brings him back to the place he didn’t think he’d see again in his lifetime.
I wouldn’t have initially picked up this book, but book clubs often take you outside your reading comfort zone, which is why I like them so much. The Water Dancer tackles uncomfortable topics and deals with an awful part of North America’s history: slavery. This is one of the reasons it’s such an important book. We as a society like to think slavery was centuries ago and no longer impact our world today, but that’s just not true. The effects still linger and racism is ever present, no matter the country you live in.
One of the themes that really caught my attention was family. The loss of Hiram’s birth mother put him in the path of Thena, a fellow slave who watched her children be sold and has left her with bitter scars. Together, they make their own new family, one whose bonds are tested throughout the book. Thena has many powerful lines in the story. One that especially sticks out is how she claimed she was more of a mother to Hiram than Howell Walker, the estate’s owner, was a father to him.
Which brings me to the next interesting part of Hiram’s family, his father. It’s no secret masters had relations with their slaves, but it brings a complexity to Hiram’s life. He’s torn between wanting a relationship with the man who sold his mother and his dreams of one day being caretaker to the estate he was raised on, one that will go to his unqualified half-brother, merely because of his skin colour.
It’s even more interesting when you read further in the book and come to realize that Hiram’s love interest, Sophia, has given birth to a little girl named Caroline through her unwanted relations with Nathaniel Walker, Hiram’s uncle. Hiram is forced to confront his resentment and anger, his judgements and desires, in order to make it work with the woman he loves and have the family he’s always wanted.
Coates’ decision to add in a bit of fantasy with Hiram’s water dancing wasn’t what I was expecting. To blend history and fantasy in this way was a good option, though, since it added something new and it worked well within the confines of history. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.
For lovers of historical books, especially ones about slavery and the Underground Railroad, this is definitely the book for you.
The Water Dancer Rating: ★★★★