Oct 7

Oct 7 The Message

About the book

Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Publisher: One World

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

Buy and support indie bookstores (+ I earn a small commission):
Bookshop.org (print) | Libro.fm (audio)

My Review

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the greatest writers of our generation, full stop. This is not his strongest book, but it is still very good and very worth your time (it’s also short!).

In The Message, Coates gives us three essays: one about his trip to Senegal/Africa for the first time, one about book banning, and one about his journey of understanding regarding Palestine and the Palestinian liberation movement. He doesn’t make super clear arguments as much as give us an inside look at his thought processes on these topics (which, given how smart and thoughtful he is, is a gift). I also really liked the introduction, which is addressed to a cohort of one of his past writing classes.

Coates reads the audiobook himself, which is powerful. Still, this little book is so packed and rich that I feel compelled to go back and reread it in print to make sure I really got all of it. That said I’m sure I’d feel like I needed to reread no matter what medium I chose first!