120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

All systems are go 🚀 We’ve moved into our new bookstore and warehouse 🎉

The Water Dancer

The New York Times Bestseller
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.06 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 117,347 ratings, 12,437 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a poignant tale set in the pre-Civil War South, blending history with a touch of magical realism. It follows Hiram Walker, a young man born into slavery with a mysterious power linked to water and memory. As Hiram navigates his path to freedom, he uncovers hidden truths about his past and a larger struggle for liberation.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2200
Elsewhere:
$2400
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to powerful narratives exploring themes of identity, memory, and resilience, with a blend of historical fiction and magical realism. It offers a compelling look at the American South during the era of slavery, woven with rich, evocative prose and an imaginative storyline.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The highly anticipated debut novel from the award-winning, bestselling author of We Were Eight Years in Power - a story of bondage, freedom, and love.

Every slave plantation is a house of spies and intrigue. No slave walks a straight line or has a single story - deep within their hearts is rebellion. But against whom?

Hiram Walker is a man with a gift and a curse. He was born between worlds—his father a white plantation master, his mother black and enslaved. And, unbeknown even to himself, he was born with a special power. When he is sold to a new mistress as punishment for attempting escape, Hiram discovers her home is a secret hub of the underground railroad—a training ground for its agents.

Hiram fast becomes a highly skilled agent, retrieving the enslaved from the most dangerous circumstances and gradually learning to harness his power—but betrayals lurk everywhere. And eventually, Hiram must risk everything to return to his father's plantation and free the friends he left behind.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates has received high praise for its imaginative storytelling and poetic prose. Reviewers highlight its unique approach to the theme of slavery, blending historical and supernatural elements to create a gripping narrative. Oprah Winfrey describes it as one of the best books she's ever read, while others commend its rich historical significance and relevance, calling it a bold and dazzling work by one of America's most important writers.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241982518

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 November 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 289g

Pages: 416

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction History & Archaeology History & Military Horror & Supernatural Literary Fiction Penguin Books Ta-Nehisi Coates

About the Author

Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer, and Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015. He is the recipient of a National Magazine Award and a MacArthur Fellowship. He is currently the Sterling Brown endowed chair at Howard University in the English department.

Also by Ta-Nehisi Coates

View all
  • The Message
    With his bestseller, Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates established himself as a unique voice in his generation of American authors; a brilliant writer and thinker in the tradition of James Baldwin. In his keenly anticipated new book, The Message, he explores the urgent question of how our stories - our reporting, imaginative narratives and mythmaking - both expose...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Between the World and Me
    In the 150 years since the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (the abolition of slavery), the story of race and America has remained a brutally simple one. It is the story of the black body, exploited to create the country's foundational wealth, violently segregated to unite a nation after a civil war and,...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • We Were Eight Years in Power
    From Obama to Trump, from Black Lives Matter to the rise of the alt-right, this is the definitive state-of-the-nation analysis of modern America. From 2008 to 2016, the leader of the free world was a black man. Obama's presidency was a watershed moment in American history. In those eight years, the political conversation around race, gender, class, and wealth shifted...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet (Marvel Premier Collection)
    Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet (Marvel Premier Collection) contains a new foreword by rapper and activist Killer Mike. It is presented in a newly designed book-format edition that also includes bonus content such as sketches, layouts, interviews, and variant covers! National Book Award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates, known for Between the World and Me, and acclaimed illustrator Brian Stelfreeze...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $4300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Between the World and Me
    Between the World and Me
    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $5300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Message
    Pre-order
    The Message
    The renowned author returns with a timely book about his journeys to three sites of conflict - Dakar, South Carolina, and Palestine - exploring how the stories we tell, and the ones we don't, shape our realities. The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to be a book about writing, but soon found itself grappling with deeper questions about...
    By Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Paperback
    $3200
    Pre-order
    Out 21 Jan 2027

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
    Carl and Princess Donut have to team up with other contestants to not just survive, but to solve a deadly puzzle in this third, mind-twisting novel in the addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition! Carl and Donut have survived so far, but this fourth level is unlike anything they could imagine. The...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4700
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Taipei Story
    TAIPEI STORY is the electrifying new novel by bestselling literary phenomenon Rebecca F. Kuang, a profoundly moving coming-of-age story that explores first love, second language and final goodbyes – all set against the backdrop of one unforgettable summer in Taipei. Yale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. But her summer of discovery quickly...
    By R.F. Kuang
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods
    The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $6000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Haunting Adeline
    VIRAL BOOKTOK SENSATION AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR! The Manipulator I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me. I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh. But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting. And I can never look away....
    By H. D. Carlton
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all