Helpful Score: 2
A fantastic book. I listened to the audiobook read by Joe Morton. What a wonderful âperformanceâ. He read with such enthusiasm and feeling, and this added so much more than just reading the words myself.
Helpful Score: 1
All historical fiction is just that â fiction, and The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehesi Coates is no exception. The fiction label allows history to be massaged into a compelling story. However, this history itself is so compelling that it needs no embellishment especially not one based in magic. That concern aside, aspects of the writing pull me right into the middle of the story. That is the history that speaks to me in this book and gives it its power.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/the-water-dancer.html
Reviewed for #NetGalley.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/the-water-dancer.html
Reviewed for #NetGalley.
Helpful Score: 1
I have to give it a so-so; while an incredibly important topic, the book left me a little wanting. I'm not sure I can even identify why. It did do a good job of going further than 'this is what happened to me' to letting the reader see the lifetime changes/damage caused by each incident, so more into the mind of the destruction. The writing itself was good.
"The Water Dancer" has made it onto my short list of favorite books ever. The story is gripping -- an alternate view of the world of slavery from an author who is well-versed in the super-hero genre -- and this is one of the few times that a "magical realism"-type novel has really worked for me. Also, I found it a very slow read, but only because I kept stopping and rereading a paragraph three or four times to savor the beauty of Coates' prose.
I've lent the book to friends, who also loved it, and anticipate sitting down with it for a second read soon.
I've lent the book to friends, who also loved it, and anticipate sitting down with it for a second read soon.
