Author(s): Nathan Harris

Staff Picks- Read our reviews

In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry--freed by the Emancipation Proclamation--seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys.

Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox.

With candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as gripping as it is moving, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances.

I loved this story! I think the title is apt, as threads of 'sweetness' run through the whole story – the relationships between brothers, parents and child, unlikely friendships, marriage partners and more.
Set in the aftermath of the American Civil war, negro slave brothers are set free by the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, history has told us that freedom, without any resources or means of support, meant that many slaves had nowhere to go and no way of leaving their current circumstances. The brothers only make it as far as a neighbouring farm where unusually the white owner takes them in and pays them a wage to help him develop his land, intending to provide them means to be able to travel North in the future and look for their mother who had previously been sold. There are then consequences enacted from other members of this southern community with shocking results. Still, somehow this remains a story of sweetness and hope.
This young author is one to be watched – his writing is extremely accomplished for a debut novel and I can’t wait to see what his next book offers. I am hoping it is a sequel to this, as the characters have stayed with me and I really want to know what happens to them next. A really, really good read. Prue