Book· 2019· Historical

The Water Dancer

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer: it draws on 1 recorded source.

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Book · 1987

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Ta-Nehisi Coates has called Toni Morrison a huge influence on The Water Dancer: a novel of slavery told through memory and the supernatural, where an enslaved man's power is bound to what he remembers of his mother.

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About the work

The Water Dancer

It is a surrealist story set in the pre-Civil War South, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram Walker who possesses a photographic memory, but who cannot remember his mother. He learns he has a special ability known as "conduction", with which he is able to transport people—including himself—over long distances. Conduction is powered by his memories and storytelling, and can fold the Earth like fabric, allowing travel across large areas via waterways.

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