![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Hiram’s story speaks to similar histories of thousands of slaves before the Civil War born of a slave mother and a white plantation owner father, Hiram is spared field work shortly after his mother’s sale to another owner and summoned to work at a series of odd jobs within the house of a plantation called Lockless in Virginia. I found myself grateful when the entire novel was finally released for publication. The short story left me holding my breath for months, amazed at the imagery and word play that sculpted a magical story of memory as transportation. In the short story, Hiram is gifted with a slice of fresh gingerbread from a free black bakery owner in Philadelphia, and the warm treat jogs memories that Hiram, whose gift is the gift of memory, had forgotten in the shock of losing his mother to a slave sale in Virginia at a very young age. Back in June of this year Coates read an excerpt of the book adapted as a short story for The New Yorker Fiction podcast, a short story entitled “Conduction,” and his solid speech told the story of protagonist Hiram Walker’s first days in the free city of Philadelphia. Long before The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates was announced as the next Oprah Book Club selection, I have anticipated this novel. ![]()
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