The water dancer : a novel / Ta-Nehisi Coates.
"Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage--and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child--but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand, a blue light that lifts him up and lands him a mile away. This strange brush with death forces a new urgency on Hiram's private rebellion. Spurred on by his improvised plantation family, Thena, his chosen mother, a woman of few words and many secrets, and Sophia, a young woman fighting her own war even as she and Hiram fall in love, he becomes determined to escape the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey into the covert war on slavery that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia's proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the deep South to dangerously utopic movements in the North. Even as he's enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, all Hiram wants is to return to the Walker Plantation to free the family he left behind--but to do so, he must first master his magical gift and reconstruct the story of his greatest loss."-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780399590597 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 403 pages ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : One World, [2019]
- Copyright: ©2019
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Slavery > Southern States > History > Fiction. |
Genre: | Magic realist fiction. Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 27 of 27 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Smithers Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 27 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smithers Public Library | F COA (Text) | 35101011037889 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
A Virginia slave narrowly escapes a drowning death through the intervention of a mysterious force that compels his escape and personal underground war against slavery. By the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me. (historical fiction). (This book was listed in a previous issue of Forecast.) Tour. - Baker & Taylor
"Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage--and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child--but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand, a blue light that lifts him up and lands him a mile away. This strange brush with death forces a new urgency on Hiram's private rebellion. Spurred on by his improvised plantation family, Thena, his chosen mother, a woman of few words and many secrets, and Sophia, a young woman fighting her own war even as she and Hiram fall in love, he becomes determined to escape the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey into the covert war on slavery that takes Hiram from thecorrupt grandeur of Virginia's proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the deep South to dangerously utopic movements in the North. Even as he's enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, all Hiram wants is to return to the Walker Plantation to free the family he left behind--but to do so, he must first master his magical gift and reconstruct the story of his greatest loss. This is a bracingly original vision of the world of slavery, written with the narrative force of a great adventure. Driven by the author's bold imagination and striking ability to bring readers deep into the interior lives of his brilliantly rendered characters, The Water Dancer is the story of America's oldest struggle--the struggle to tell the truth--from one of our most exciting thinkers and beautiful writers"-- - Random House, Inc.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠OPRAHâS BOOK CLUB PICK ⢠From the National Book Awardâwinning 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.
âThis potent book about Americaâs most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.ââSan Francisco Chronicle
IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE ⢠Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, directed by Nia DaCosta, and produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfreyâs Harpo Films
NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD ⢠NAMED ONE OF PASTEâS BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE ⢠NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time ⢠NPR ⢠The Washington Post ⢠Chicago Tribune ⢠Vanity Fair ⢠Esquire ⢠Good Housekeeping ⢠Paste ⢠Town & Country ⢠The New York Public Library ⢠Kirkus Reviews ⢠Library Journal
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of herâbut 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 heâs ever known.
So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginiaâs 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 heâs enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiramâs resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.
This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and childrenâthe violent and capricious separation of familiesâand the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of todayâs most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.
Praise for The Water Dancer
âTa-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me. So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectationsâand then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . Whatâs most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.ââRolling Stone - Random House, Inc.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠OPRAHâS BOOK CLUB PICK â¢Â From the National Book Awardâwinning 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.
âThis potent book about Americaâs most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.ââSan Francisco Chronicle
IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE ⢠Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfreyâs Harpo Films
NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD ⢠NAMED ONE OF PASTEâS BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE ⢠NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time ⢠NPR â¢Â The Washington Post ⢠Chicago Tribune ⢠Vanity Fair â¢Â Esquire ⢠Good Housekeeping ⢠Paste â¢Â Town & Country ⢠The New York Public Library â¢Â Kirkus Reviews ⢠Library Journal
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of herâbut 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 heâs ever known.
So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginiaâs 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 heâs enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiramâs resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.
This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and childrenâthe violent and capricious separation of familiesâand the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of todayâs most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.
Praise for The Water Dancer
âTa-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me. So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectationsâand then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . Whatâs most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.ââRolling Stone