Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Coates (Between the World and Me) is one of—potentially the—most sought-after contemporary voice on the politics of race, and his debut fiction could not have been more laudably anticipated. Now sporting Oprah's seal of approval as her latest Book Club pick, The Water Dancer has already achieved mega-bestselling status. That justified adulation for the print version is only further enhanced by award-winning stage/film/television actor Morton's mesmerizing performance, his lone voice effortlessly ciphering through Coates' vast cast of characters. The epic enslavement-to-freedom narrative of Hiram Walker was 10 years in the making, combining historical figures, the Underground Railroad, the "real-life saga of William and Peter Still"—revealed in Coates' ending author's note to be the inspiration of the novel's white family—and, surprisingly but affectingly, magic realism that gives multilayered new meaning to "Conduction." From boyhood to manhood, Morton consistently bestows Hiram with a full spectrum of resonating emotions, from yearning to disdain, desperation to determination, fear to (super)humanity. Morton's diligent aural precision never wavers between major and minor characters, proving indelibly memorable as Hiram's entitled white brother, their agonizingly conflicted father, glorious (and glorified) Harriet Tubman, and heart-twisting mother-figure Thena. Format notwithstanding, Coates unquestionably cements his canonic status across multiple genres. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
BookPage Reviews
Audio: November 2019
★ The Dutch House
Tom Hanks summons up a kind of nostalgic Americana in his reading of Ann Patchett’s new novel, The Dutch House, a modern wicked-stepmother fable that follows narrator Danny and his older sister, Maeve, throughout their lives. After Danny and Maeve’s mother abandons them, their father remarries a woman who has no interest in them. When he dies and leaves almost everything to their stepmother, including their grand house, the injustice of it guides the rest of their lives. Patchett effortlessly navigates through time, capturing the essence of her characters’ stories in a subtle portrait. Hanks truly transforms into Danny; after hearing his narration, I can’t imagine the book without it.
The Water Dancer
In The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ magical debut novel, readers meet Hiram, an enslaved man with special abilities. Through Hiram’s struggles and those of the people he encounters, Coates makes the emotional costs of slavery tangible, from the families who are separated to the free mother whose children are taken from her and sold. Coates gives his characters an original way of speaking that captures the ethos of the time without being confusing to the modern ear. He refers to the enslaved as the “Tasked” and the enslavers as the “Quality,” an intentional choice that encourages the listener to question the word slave and its denial of humanity. Hearing the words spoken in actor Joe Morton’s rich voice ties the book to the oral tradition and entrenches the story in legend. Coates brings his experience in journalism and nonfiction to ground the book in research, using history to create something new and wholly original.
Mythos
With endless British wit, Stephen Fry puts his own spin on classical Greek mythology in Mythos. The storylines stick pretty closely to the classics, while the added playfulness is all Fry. He fleshes out the gods, heroes and mortals, giving them more personality and filling in their interpersonal relationships. Their nutty antics play out in an absurd fashion. It’s what would happen if you handed Monty Python the keys to Mount Olympus. Fry has a strong love for the English language, which his narration reinforces as beautifully strung words slip over his tongue, and his dry delivery bolsters the comedy. It’s a good listen for families with teens, but a bit risqué for young children.
BookPage Reviews
Audio: November 2019
★ The Dutch House
Tom Hanks summons up a kind of nostalgic Americana in his reading of Ann Patchett’s new novel, The Dutch House, a modern wicked-stepmother fable that follows narrator Danny and his older sister, Maeve, throughout their lives. After Danny and Maeve’s mother abandons them, their father remarries a woman who has no interest in them. When he dies and leaves almost everything to their stepmother, including their grand house, the injustice of it guides the rest of their lives. Patchett effortlessly navigates through time, capturing the essence of her characters’ stories in a subtle portrait. Hanks truly transforms into Danny; after hearing his narration, I can’t imagine the book without it.
The Water Dancer
In The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ magical debut novel, readers meet Hiram, an enslaved man with special abilities. Through Hiram’s struggles and those of the people he encounters, Coates makes the emotional costs of slavery tangible, from the families who are separated to the free mother whose children are taken from her and sold. Coates gives his characters an original way of speaking that captures the ethos of the time without being confusing to the modern ear. He refers to the enslaved as the “Tasked” and the enslavers as the “Quality,” an intentional choice that encourages the listener to question the word slave and its denial of humanity. Hearing the words spoken in actor Joe Morton’s rich voice ties the book to the oral tradition and entrenches the story in legend. Coates brings his experience in journalism and nonfiction to ground the book in research, using history to create something new and wholly original.
Mythos
With endless British wit, Stephen Fry puts his own spin on classical Greek mythology in Mythos. The storylines stick pretty closely to the classics, while the added playfulness is all Fry. He fleshes out the gods, heroes and mortals, giving them more personality and filling in their interpersonal relationships. Their nutty antics play out in an absurd fashion. It’s what would happen if you handed Monty Python the keys to Mount Olympus. Fry has a strong love for the English language, which his narration reinforces as beautifully strung words slip over his tongue, and his dry delivery bolsters the comedy. It’s a good listen for families with teens, but a bit risqué for young children.
Library Journal Reviews
This much-anticipated debut novel by 2015 National Book Award recipient Coates (