The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer is centered around the central character Hiriam Walker who has been born into a life of slavery. Hiriam has lost his mother to the Auction block and his father is the wealthy plantation owner for whom he is in bondage. Hiriam is given the task of being servant to his owner’s son and during his service we learn that Hiriam is gifted with special abilities one of which is a photographic memory and this gift is often put on display by forcing him to perform memory tricks for guests upon demand. Although, the book is written about slavery it doesn't focus on the brutality of it but instead the story is full of stories of love, betrayal, escape and capture for Hiriam. Along his journey he stumbles on the second of his powers which is labeled "conduction" or the ability to transport one’s self from one location to another.

Coates appeals to the longing for the tradition of storytelling, he weaves a folktale which involves Hiriam, his gift and the fight to deliver slaves into freedom which will ultimately become his fight. In the book as Hiriam is introduced to his own freedom and he meets the person who will become his mentor and tutor, Harriet Tubman. Tubman also has the gift of conduction and Coates convinces us that it is her gift that are the wheels of the Underground Railroad. Hiriam develops both of his gifts and is determined to use his gifts to help bring slaves to freedom. Throughout the book we see the growth and maturity of Hiriam and how he uses the pain and brokenness he has endured during slavery as a spark to help those in bondage.

Although this book is a little fantastic, I believe that is intentional. The magic and fantasy he uses here to explain the functioning of the Underground Railroad seeks to explain something that has often been shrouded in mist since slavery. In the minds of slaves, the Underground Railroad was a magical, and illusive idea. To those slaves seeking freedom, the idea of the Underground Railroad seemed an impossible dream. It was an idea that was surrounded by mysticism and that is where the root of folktales, fables and stories begins.

The Water Dancer provides us a break from reality but perhaps the ultimate lesson that Coates wants us to come away with is that no matter what pain and brokenness we go through in life we must tap into those very memories to push ourselves forward and to reach back and help those who are going through the things that we have overcome. And like Hiriam, the more we force ourselves to tap into our greatest memories of pain, tragedy, and brokenness the more people we can help.

Submitted by: Kisha Jones