A review by willowshade101
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

5.0

The Message is a book that is very concerned with narratives, mythmaking, and the power of words. Split into four essays, each essay intimately explores these themes in different contexts–Coates reflecting on the first time his world was troubled by truth and the way words shape marginalized experiences, his first trip to Africa and the reshaping of the mythologized version that existed in his head, and his experiences and thoughts on censorship and the struggle against it–all leading up to his last and longest essay in which he visits Palestine for the first time and sees first hand the devastating consequences of nationalized mythmaking. 

This was my first Ta-Nehesi Coates book and I believe I will have to read more of his work. His prose is intimate and earnest, and his passion for words and truth is inspiring. It’s a very thematically tight book, with each chapter building on each other and not shying away from exploring uncomfortable connections. It is very concerned with the power of myth and stories to both empower and to blind, to bring together and to separate. As he explores these ideas he grounds them in his own personal reflections and life experiences which makes the book feel very intimate. He reflects on his family, his heritage, the impact his works have had on the world, and his mistakes. Overall the book is very concerned with the human behind each story, starting with Coates himself.  

While the last chapter, The Gigantic Dream, has drawn the most attention considering the current controversy around Palestine, the three chapters leading up to it are very strong in their own right, with the second one On Pharaohs being my personal favorite and the one that I believe sets up the last chapter the strongest. The connection between his own desires as an African American to connect his heritage to the power of empire and pharoahs while at the same time acknowledging the dangers of that, and then linking it to the mythmaking of the state of Israel was inspired. That this is the logical conclusion of that inviting but problematic train of thought and that that worldview can be born from anywhere if allowed to dominate.  

Something I really appreciated about his writing was that it always came from a place of empathy and desire to understand. At all moments of the book I feel he is trying first and foremost for connection, even with groups of people who he is ideologically opposed to. He sees the humanity in everyone and tries to bring that to the forefront while remaining grounded in his principles. This is what makes that last chapter so strong--he is able to navigate through a topic mired in controversy and propaganda guided by this humanity and ends up with a strong exploration of oppression and resistance, while still letting us feel the weight of both the aspirations of Zionism for Jewish redemption from history's horrors and its devastating consequences. After all, the power of a narrative is not enough for salvation, and however comforting it may be, however crucial to one’s being it may feel, sometimes the only way to move forward is to let it go. 

Overall, The Message sticks to its themes strongly and explores them each in dynamic ways in each of its respective chapters. It leaves us with a book that is a strong exploration of the power of stories and the shapes it can take. It attempts to, as Coates writes, not just see the world but see the people in it. Or more specifically, to push past the way words build the world around us to to see the people at the core of them.