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One minute, he was in the carriage and the next, he and the
horse were struggling in the water. Oddly, though, the lack
of breath, seeing his half-brother float away, tasting mud
on the riverbanks, none of that bothered him. He thought he
saw his mother dancing on the bridge, but she was sold away
years ago; the water felt familiar but everything did, all
the time. Hi grew up knowing he had a gift that allowed him
to see his ancestors and to remember everything, and this
drowning was one of those things.
He woke up in a bed wearing fresh clothes that belonged to
his half-brother, Maynard. Hi’s father – the man who owned
him – was weeping because Maynard was lost, and Hi realized
then that whatever relationship he’d had with his white
father was over.
His life at the great house on Virginia’s Lockless
Plantation, over. That his father looked the other way when
Hiram showed interest in Sophia, a housegirl Hi delivered
every weekend to his father’s brother for reasons Hi
preferred not to think about… done. His whole life
was spent as a Tasker for people who owned him, toiling for
Quality folk and thinking that if he did the right things,
he’d be rewarded with some sort of equality or freedom or….
Or he’d been fooling himself.
He’d never be equal to the Quality. He’d never love who he
wanted to love, or know for certain that he’d never be sold
Natchez-way. And that meant just one thing.
It was time to run.
Hunched over. That’s what you’ll be with The Water Dancer:
hunched over as you read, to protect your heart from this
story and because the anticipation of what’s to come is too
much to handle if you’re upright.
Using a little magic, the full meaning of which may not
become totally clear until nearly the end of this tale,
author Ta-Nehisi Coates captivates readers with language
rich and reminiscent of poetry or song. The beauty of those
words is calming-not-calming, like lying on a
fresh-smelling, springy bed of moss on the edge of quiet
woods, waiting to hear heavy footsteps you know are coming.
Cue the ominous music, but don’t think that this is a horror
novel. No, it’s more of an
escape-novel-thriller-love-story-drama-history with a cast
of characters that couldn’t seem more real.
One of them, in fact, was real so look for her and
don’t worry if the plot of this book doesn’t make sense at
first; it will soon enough. Just settle, let the words wash
in, and The Water Dancer will knock the breath out of
you.
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