Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    In 'The Water Dancer,' Ta-Nehisi Coates Creates Magical Alternate History

    Ta-Nehisi Coates' new novel, set during the era of slavery, follows a young black man who discovers that his memories trigger a mysterious power of teleportation that can help escaped slaves flee.
    by Annalisa Quinn Sep 26, 2019 2 minutes
    Source: One World

    In an essay on race and memory, Toni Morrison wrote of "the stress of remembering, its inevitability, [but] the chances for liberation that lie within the process." Ta-Nehisi Coates' new novel, The Water Dancer, is an experiment in taking Morrison's "chances for liberation" literally: What if memory had the power to transport enslaved people to freedom?

    Coates is best known as and but with a new novel and his work on the Black Panther comic series, he is straying into speculative fiction. The results are mixed. At its best, is a melancholic and suspenseful novel that merges the slavery narrative with the genres of fantasy or quest novels. But moments of great lyricism are matched with clichés and odd narrative gaps, and the mechanics of plot sometimes seem to grind and stall.

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR1 min read
    History 2: The Golden Ages Of Labor And Looms
    Who has the power? Workers or bosses? It changes through the ages, though it's usually the bosses. Today, we look at two key moments when the power of labor shifted, for better and worse, and we ask why then? What does history have to say about labor
    NPR1 min read
    How Flying Got So Bad (or Did It?)
    We often hear that air travel is worse than it's ever been. Gone are the days when airplanes touted piano bars and meat carving stations — or even free meals. Instead we're crammed into tiny seats and fighting for overhead space. How did we get here?
    NPR1 min read
    What's With All The Tiny Soda Cans? And Other Grocery Store Mysteries, Solved.
    There's a behind the scenes industry that helps big brands decide questions like: How big should a bag of chips be? What's the right size for a bottle of shampoo? And yes, also: When should a company do a little shrinkflation? From Cookie Monster to

    Related Books & Audiobooks