I struggled through this book, but it was worth struggling through. There were many times I thought about quitting this book. It did not grab my interest, not until about two-thirds of the way through with the introduction of Moses. If I had not purchased this as a Book of the Month book and wanted to complete it for my reading challenge, I confess I would have quit this book.

Coates' words are lyrical and his style does mirror his nonfiction writing. However, I do not believe it translated well into fiction in this book. Coates, as always, has excellent and deep thoughts - ones that strike and wound and uplift and inform all at once. This book has a message as powerful as his nonfiction, even if I didn't truly enjoy this reading experience.The author relies primarily on dialogue to tell this story, and so, the images it provokes are only half-formed. The description lacks the detail I am used to in a strong narrative. The characters are also little formed beyond the words of their mouths. To an extent this even felt true of Hiram Walker, the main character. We don't get much of their lives or thoughts, and so, they tend to blend together. For a novel that attempts to be character driven, this is a significant weakness.

The magical realism in this story didn't make much sense to me or feel like a true fit for the story until about two thirds of the way through, which made the story a slog to read. I would roll my eyes every time it came up before it felt superfluous and barely formed. Finally it made sense later on, but not soon enough for me to have continued with interest on my own accord. It was integral to the story and explained how our memories form us and our future generations. When these memories are stolen, we are stolen and our children to come are also stolen in some formative way.

This book as a lesson for all of us, and it's not just that slavery was painful and bad. There are hundreds of books that do that. Instead, this fantastical narrative begs us to not repeat this. It doesn't mention our chaos and entrapment of those at the border, the enslavement of prisoners, or even how so many are trapped in impoverished lives by those who profit on their poverty. It doesn't need to. It challenges us on these things by reminding us of the power of our past and the power of our future if we can embrace our past without turning away from its darkest moments.