The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This book was a challenge - but in a good way. Novels can exercise your brain in ways that non-fiction books can't. They can take you unapologetically to realms away from reality, but then again make you wonder, could it be possible? In this case, you are taken on this journey with the main character, Hiram, through his story of how he became part of the Underground. Through his story, you see the cruelty of those who deemed it was okay to own other humans, but you also see how those who were owned (Tasked) can become superhuman in their resilience. Coates did so much in the telling of the story to make you go "huh?" (me anyways) so the reading becomes mental exercise. Why did he use terms like Tasked for slaves and Quality for the slaveowners.? It is so ironic that it's uncomfortable. There's still things I didn't get, like why was Hiram's heroic feat of "conduction" at the end, an act of resistance to the Underground station he was associated with? But, I appreciate the overall effect this book had on me - an experience of otherworldliness. I loved how, through  his relationships with several strong women characters, (including Harriet Tubman), he became wiser and stronger.