The Message

by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Message cover
Good Books rating 4.29
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  • ID: 467
  • Added: 2025-09-12
  • Updated: 2025-11-01
  • ISBN: 9780593230381
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Published: 2024-10-01
  • Formats: 78
  • Reviews: 4

In this powerful exploration, Ta-Nehisi Coates examines how the stories we tell—and those we don’t—shape our understanding of the world. Through three resonant sites of conflict—Dakar, Columbia, and Palestine—Coates delves into the interplay between narrative, myth, and reality, revealing how these elements influence our perceptions of race, history, and identity. From the modern city of Dakar to the mythic kingdom of his imagination, Coates reflects on the tension between progress and tradition. In Columbia, he confronts the backlash against America’s reckoning with its past, while in Palestine, he witnesses the devastating consequences of nationalist narratives. Coates’ work is a timely call to untangle ourselves from destructive myths and embrace the liberating power of truth.

Reviews
The Guardian · 2025-01-29
insightful 4.25

The book offers a politically charged meditation on race, censorship, and oppression, illuminated through Coates’s travels to Senegal and the West Bank.

This review highlights how Coates uses his journeys to different conflict zones to explore deep questions about race, censorship, and the power of stories in shaping reality. The reviewer appreciates Coates’s ability to connect his personal experiences with broader political and social themes, particularly how narratives influence perceptions of history and justice. The reviewer emphasizes that the book is not just a travelogue but a thoughtful inquiry into how storytelling can both reveal and distort truths about oppression and identity. They note Coates’s skill in shedding light on complex issues through a blend of memoir and political analysis, making the book a compelling and timely reflection on contemporary struggles around race and power.

Quick quotes

    Travels to Senegal and the West Bank shed light on how we think about race, censorship and oppression.

    A politically charged meditation on the power of stories.

    The book exposes how narratives shape our understanding of reality and justice.

John Walters Writer · John Walters · 2024-11-09
inspirational 4.50

Coates’s writing is thoughtful, precise, and honest, inspiring readers to write with courage and truthfulness while addressing complex social issues through his travels.

John Walters finds the book to be a powerful call to writers, especially young ones, to embrace honesty and integrity in their craft. He admires Coates’s courage in tackling difficult topics such as slavery, white supremacy, colonialism, and educational inequality through his observations in Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine. Walters appreciates the contemplative and moody tone of Coates’s narrative, noting that the author’s reflections cannot be easily summarized but must be experienced directly. The book’s message about the responsibility of writers to confront injustice and tell truthful stories resonates strongly with him, making it a compelling and inspiring read.

Quick quotes

    Coates writes thoughtfully, precisely, and honestly, with courage and a commitment to truth.

    It is their responsibility to write with honesty and integrity.

    The book inspires me to want to do the same.

Oberlin Review · 2024-11-08
empowering 4.40

The book powerfully illustrates the importance of literature and history in challenging white supremacy and oppression, highlighting the courage of educators and writers.

This review focuses on how Coates uses his personal experiences, particularly in Columbia, South Carolina, to highlight the fight against book censorship and the broader struggle against systemic racism. The reviewer is moved by the stories of educators like Mary Wood, who resist efforts to erase Black history and literature from schools, emphasizing the crucial role that writing and education play in social justice. The reviewer finds the book inspiring, especially in its message of solidarity across racial lines and the collective effort needed to dismantle oppression. They appreciate how Coates connects his travels and reflections to a larger narrative about the power of the pen and the ongoing struggle for liberation.

Quick quotes

    Books like his challenge narratives that uphold white supremacy.

    Writing is a powerful tool in the fight for social justice.

    Everyone has a role to play in dismantling systems of oppression.

The New Yorker · 2024-10-14
nuanced 4.00

Coates' book is both a cautionary tale and a testament to the power of narrative. The reviewer notes that while Coates warns against myth-making, he sometimes falls into the same traps.

The New Yorker's review of 'The Message' delves into Coates' exploration of narrative and its pitfalls. The reviewer acknowledges Coates' skill in uncovering the dangers of myth-making but points out that he occasionally succumbs to the same tendencies. This creates a nuanced discussion about the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of history and identity. The reviewer appreciates the book's introspective nature and its call for a more critical engagement with the stories we tell. However, they also highlight the contradictions within Coates' own narrative, making the book a complex and thought-provoking read.

Quick quotes

    In 'The Message,' Coates counsels against myth but proves susceptible to his own.

    It is a portrait of a writer grappling with how his work fits into history and the present moment.

    The book is both a cautionary tale and a testament to the power of narrative.

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