Oprah Winfrey has chosen Ta-Nehisi Coates's first novel, The Water Dancer, released today by One World, as the latest Oprah's Book Club Pick. It will also be the title formally launching her book club partnership with Apple. In October, she will interview Coates before a live audience at Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C., a conversation that will air November 1 on Apple TV+, Apple's all-original video subscription service.
Revealing her choice Monday on CBS This Morning, Winfrey said, "I've always been a student of our history, of African-American history. And, you know, I grew up reciting Sojourner Truth's 'Ain't I a Woman' before I even knew what I was really saying. And I always recognized I've been carried by the ancestors. And Ta-Nehisi's book The Water Dancer allows us to see that, but also to experience and feel what that carriage has been like."
She described it as "one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Right up there in the Top 5. I was enthralled, I was devastated. I felt hope, I felt gratitude, I felt joy--I mean, it's the range of emotions. That's why I think it has everything that a novel is supposed to [have]. I'm on my second read now, because the first read I was just reading to see if I was going to choose it. And then the second read, I actually am sort of spoonfeeding every word to myself."
Winfrey also made the announcement on Twitter, noting: "The only thing more thrilling than being captivated by a book is being able to share it with others. Which is why I'm excited to bring @oprahsbookclub to @apple starting TODAY! My first pick, The Water Dancer by the brilliant Ta-Nehisi Coates. It will enthrall you."
"I have not felt this way about a book since Beloved," Winfrey told the Associated Press reported, referring to Toni Morrison's novel.
Coates said he "was just as surprised as anybody. I pretty much write for myself and the only people I think about are my wife and my editor. I was really happy (about the news from Winfrey). But I think the most encouraging part was that she's a reader. It was clear from the conversation that she's a reader. This is not a marketing ploy. There's nothing to be cynical about."