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The Water Dancer  By  cover art

The Water Dancer

By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Narrated by: Joe Morton
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Publisher's summary

THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLER

OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK

The unmissable debut novel by the critically acclaimed author of Between the World and Me and We Were Eight Years in Power - a richly imagined journey to freedom

Hiram Walker is a man with a secret, and a war to win. A war for the right to life, to family, to freedom.

Born into bondage on a Virginia plantation, he is also born gifted with a mysterious power that he won't discover until he is almost a man, when he risks everything for a chance to escape. One fateful decision will carry him away from his makeshift plantation family and into the heart of the underground war on slavery...

©2019 Ta-Nehisi Coates (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Any writer tackling slavery needs to do something different with it, and The Water Dancer does just that. Coates' rhapsodic prose spins a soaring, scorching, supernatural tale of the imagination that sets this history alight and turns it into an original work of art. (Bernardine Evaristo)
One of the best books I have ever read in my entire life . . . I was enthralled, I was devastated. (Oprah Winfrey)
a remarkable story about inequality, slavery, memory, freedom and dignity. I found it important and universally relevant (Elif Shafak)

What listeners say about The Water Dancer

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Fantastic story and narration

Can’t stop listening to this story, it’s characters that become so alive and the narration adding a level to the mesmerising world of people. Truly fantastic.

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  • Overall
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An old tale of slavery told like never before

This yet another old tale of slavery but told like never before. It's depiction of the free slaves underground network is classic & holds the different individual tales together. This a masterful performance by Morton.

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