A review by erinkelly
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

2.0

The word that comes to mind is disappointing. I, personally, struggle with magical realism in historical fiction, and it seems like intellectuals cannot write a book about the underground railroad without magical realism. I struggled, even at the end of this one, to think about what had I just read. A love story? Kind of. A story of hope? I'm not sure. It didn't have a clear direction and I finished it just wishing I had read a better book on the topic of slavery and the underground railroad. There's so much to think and write about here, and I'm still waiting for the novel that really nails it. If you're looking for a slavery historical fiction novel, The Chariot of the Mountain by Jack Ford is still my absolute favorite.