Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

90 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There were parts of this book I loved, the historical story of plantation life and the darkness of plantation owners and the treatment of their slaves. Beautiful and hauntingly written. Hiram is the central character, and his mother is sold when he was nine. He is also the son of the plantation owner, but a slave never the less. Where it falls away for me is the introduction of conduction, a magical fantasy element that is where I feel the story fell short.  That aside, it is a magical, lyrical, brutal story of oppression, separation, and resistance. It's a devastating but joyful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Violence

kwims's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I don't know if this was intentional, but I really liked how Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote Hiram's father as being a "kind and generous" plantation owner, who didn't beat the people that he had enslaved on his plantation and would even go so far as to call Hiram his own son occasionally. I thought that that captured the deep evil of chattel slavery, even if a white man was "kind" to the people he enslaved, he still participated in the ownership of other people and that was still a deep kind of evil.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Domestic abuse

mnatale100's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Abandonment, Confinement, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Infidelity

rasputina_99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Slavery

Moderate: Child abuse

nehaanna's review

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The writing is evocative and intoxicating. While slow in some parts, the plot moves quickly in the last third of the book as the main character finally reaches his appointed destiny and in so doing, peace with himself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Violence, Death, Racial slurs, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Abandonment, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Classism

m_rain's review against another edition

5.0

incredibly written story! I loved the magical realism moments, the imagery, and the message to remember, even if it's difficult. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Rape

nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.5

This book was beautifully written and the audiobook was fantastic. The only thing was that sometimes the pacing was a tad slow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

srjennings's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence, Racism, Violence, Rape, and Death

jzmnz's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Kidnapping

Moderate: Torture, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Rape, and Racism

sailormar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Definitely one you have to really devote attention to - the prose is very poetic and sometimes requires a slow read to really get the meaning. But WOW gorgeous, beautiful, brutal, and imaginative. Loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Racism