Thanks to PRH Audio for the free copy of this book.

 - THE MESSAGE is three essays that connect through the idea of how writing and storytelling shape our view of the world. Coates tells us about trips he takes to Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine.
- The first two essays are good and thought-provoking, but the essay on Palestine is the heart of and reason for the book. Coates lays out why the narrative he’d been told his whole life about the region was wrong, and obviously so from the moment he set foot in Jerusalem.
- Coates connects the dots between the three stories - slavery, book banning, and apartheid - and how the narratives that have built up around them over time shape the daily lives of oppressed people.