• Who is the narrator of The Water Dancer, and why might the author have chosen to write the novel in first person from their perspective? Although the book has only one narrator, what other voices and points of view are represented in the book? Which of the other characters are also revealed as storytellers within the narrative as they share their own stories with Hiram? How would you say that these additional narratives enrich the story and expand its scope? What do they reveal about the power of storytelling and bearing witness?

  • What series of events “shook forever [Hiram’s] sense of a cosmic order” (5)? Who does Hiram see on the bridge just before the carriage, in which he is driving his brother Maynard, plummets into the Goose? What do you think Hiram means when he says, “slavery murdered [his brother]” (7)? After they have been cast into the river, what does Hiram feel “reflected [for the first time] the true nature of [their] positions” (8)? What impact do these events have on his life and how is Hiram changed as a result of the experience? What does this experience inspire Hiram to do?

  • Who are the Tasked and what does Hiram mean when he says that their culture and community is “its own America” with “its own grandeur” (52)? Who are “the Quality” and how does the use of this term serve to expose the hypocrisy of white slave owners and “genteel” society? Do any of the so-called members of the Quality seem to be aware of their horrific abuses of power and the gross contradiction between their actions and professed morals and ideals? Consider also how the use of the term opens up a more expansive dialogue around what “quality” means. Does the book ultimately propose an answer to the question of what it means to live a quality life or be a quality person?

  • Who are the Low and what is their relationship to the Quality? Why does Hiram say that this class always amazed him? How and why do the Quality treat the Low, like Harlan, differently in public than in private? Why do the Low accept this? How, in turn, do the Low treat the Tasked?

  • Why do you think the author chose to begin the story on a declining tobacco plantation in 19th century Virginia? What other sites are represented in the book and how do they contribute to a more complete picture of slavery and its tangible effects? How does life for the Tasked in Virginia compare to life in Philadelphia and farther North?

  • What is Conduction and how does Hiram first learn about it? Who does Hiram choose to go to after his first experience with Conduction? Were you surprised by this choice? What does Hiram believe that he has in common with this person? What can he see in them that others cannot? Consider other meanings of “conduction” within the book. For example, what is the relationship between conduction and the Underground? Besides Hiram, who else within the book is revealed to be a Conductor? What are some of the challenges that come with having this power?

  • Who is Hiram’s father and what is their relationship like? How does Hiram initially feel when his father calls him to the house at Lockless? Despite Thena’s warning, what makes Hiram feel “a teasing share of [his] inheritance” (33)? How does this feeling change as Hiram experiences life at Lockless? What does his father say is a duty that belongs to all of them— and what is problematic about this notion?

  • Why do you think Coates uses terms like “Tasked” and “Quality” instead of “slaves” and “masters”? What do you think the novel gains from this altered language?

  • Why do you think that Coates, who is famed for his nonfiction writing, chose to tell this story via fiction? When reading about especially difficult subjects, do you prefer to read nonfiction of fiction? What does the magical realism aspect of the story add?

  • Memory is a key theme in the novel. What is Coates suggesting by making the power of Conduction directly tied to memories and the act of remembering? What is the significance of Hiram being unable to recall certain memories?

  • Discuss Harriet’s role in the story. Did you know immediately who she was? What impact does the inclusion of a historical figure have on the narrative?

  • Characters like Corrine risk their lives to work for the Underground, while also allowing Hiram and some of its other members to come to harm for the greater good of the organization. What might Coates be trying to say about the relationship between white people and racial justice with these characters?

  • Discuss how various characters choose to fight back against injustice. Do you think they are justified when responding to oppression with violence? How does this fit in with Hiram’s notion of what is right and moral? Discuss the various methods of resistance, and how society deems some forms of resistance more acceptable than others.

  • Sophia tells Hiram, “But what you must get, is that for me to be yours, I must never be yours.” What is Coates saying about the particular struggles of black women in this novel? How does Hiram’s relationship with Sophia change over time?

  • What is the significance of water throughout the book? Why do you think Coates chooses it as the medium for Hiram’s power?

  • Although this book is set in the past, what do you think readers can take away from this book and apply to modern times and our continuing struggles with racism, power, and privilege?