A review by laurenmidna
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3.0
There’s no denying that Ta-Nahisi Coates is an extraordinary writer. Many of his sentences were poetic, lyrical, beautiful. The struggles and hardships his characters endured were brutal, the relationships were strong.
But despite all of this, I found the story difficult to get into. Harim is difficult to relate to, and I never quite understood him as a character, despite the book being from his perspective. The magical elements were interesting, but not quite as impactful as I’d hoped. The story has a phenomenal premise, but I felt like the delivery just lacked a little bit.
As a study for beautiful language, this book should get five stars. But personally I felt there was too much that was flowery and not enough that moved the story forward.
But despite all of this, I found the story difficult to get into. Harim is difficult to relate to, and I never quite understood him as a character, despite the book being from his perspective. The magical elements were interesting, but not quite as impactful as I’d hoped. The story has a phenomenal premise, but I felt like the delivery just lacked a little bit.
As a study for beautiful language, this book should get five stars. But personally I felt there was too much that was flowery and not enough that moved the story forward.