The Water Dancer: A Novel

The Water Dancer: A Novel

From the National Book Awardâ‚¬â€œwinning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of herâ‚¬"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 an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home heâ‚¬s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginiaâ‚¬s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as heâ‚¬s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiramâ‚¬s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and childrenâ‚¬"the violent and capricious separation of familiesâ‚¬"and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of todayâ‚¬s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.

Advance praise forÂ The Water Dancer

â‚¬Å“In prose thatÂ singsÂ and imagination thatÂ soars, Coates further cements himself as one of this generationâ‚¬s most important writers, tackling one of Americaâ‚¬s oldest and darkest periods withÂ graceÂ andÂ inventiveness.Â This is bold, dazzling, and not to be missed.â‚¬Ââ‚¬"Publishers WeeklyÂ (starred review)

â‚¬Å“Coates brings his considerable talent for racial and social analysis to his debut novel, which captures the brutality of slavery and explores the underlying truth that slaveholders could not dehumanize the enslaved without also dehumanizing themselves. Beautifully written, this is a deeply and soulfully imagined look at slavery and human aspirations.â‚¬Ââ‚¬"BooklistÂ (starred review)
Country USA
Brand One World
Manufacturer One World
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber part_0399590595
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2019-09-24
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780399590597

Country	USA
Brand	One World
Manufacturer	One World
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	part_0399590595
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2019-09-24
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780399590597

The Water Dancer: A Novel

You might also like...