Water Dancer / Original Title: the WATER DANCER (CREST)

[Machine Translation] Virginia, USA, mid-19th century. Hiram, a black slave, is born to a slave mother, a beautiful dancer, and a white father, a slave master. Hiram, who has an extraordinary memory and mystical abilities inherited from his grandmother, fails to escape with his girlfriend, but is discovered by an activist in the Underground Railroad, a network for escaping black slaves. He eventually becomes involved in the Underground Railroad, and as he comes into contact with the stories of many slaves, he recovers the memory of his lost mother, the source of his own power. The debut novel by the National Book Award-winning author of "The Second Coming of Baldwin," acclaimed by Toni Morrison. An epic and exciting story.

19世紀中盤のアメリカ・ヴァージニア州。黒人奴隷ハイラムは、美しい踊り手でもある奴隷の母と、奴隷主である白人の父とのあいだに生まれた。並外れた記憶力と祖母から受け継いだ神秘的な能力をあわせもつハイラムは、恋人との逃亡に失敗するが、黒人奴隷を逃すネットワーク「地下鉄道」の活動家に見出される。やがて自身もその活動に身を投じ、多くの奴隷たちの物語に触れるうち、自らの力の源である、失われた母の記憶を取りもどしてゆく―。トニ・モリスンが「ボールドウィンの再来」と絶賛した、いまもっとも注目される全米図書賞作家によるデビュー長篇小説。壮大かつエキサイティングな物語。