“Yet sometimes—just sometimes—hope was enough.”

In his debut novel, author Nathan Harris shares the story of brothers Prentiss and Landry who’ve been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. They plan to save money for the journey north to find their mother, who was sold when they were boys. George and Isabella Walker hire them to work at their neighboring farm, hoping to stanch their grief over the loss of their only son to the Civil War.

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, Georgia, hold their trysts deep in the woods. When their secret is discovered, the entire community is rocked.

The Sweetness of Water is intelligent and gorgeously written—some sentences were so lyrical I got lost in them. Case in point, “The house was pitched with an enveloping blackness. It was neither night nor morning but rather than a long lull of hours between the two, a period of nothingness—one Caleb knew too well.”

The book includes a wide range of well crafted, distinct characters. Although the author mentioned in an interview that the story came first, he blew life into his characters. A Booker Prize and Goodreads Choice for Historical Fiction this is an impressive debut by a gifted storyteller. I was, however, uncomfortable with the LGBT content. 4 stars.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy. The opinions are my own.

I liked this book but felt it left a lot to be desired. Nathan Harris is a beautiful writer and I look forward to seeing what he does next. The Reconstruction backdrop was my favorite part of this story; I enjoyed learning more about the very real tensions during this time in our history.

All of the characters—especially the female ones—fell flat for me. If I could make one suggestion to Harris it would be to eliminate extra characters and spend more time on the ones that matter. I wanted to like Isabelle, but I never warmed up to her the way I was supposed to. Mildred and Clementine both felt pointless to me. Yes, it was nice that Clementine was able to go visit Prentiss in jail, but it wasn’t necessary. Mildred was cold throughout and I never felt the sisterly bond she and Isabelle allegedly shared; there was also no need for Isabelle’s brother Silas. As for Ezra, I’m still wondering why he was a part of this story, especially since he’s supposed to be George’s father’s age and George himself is described as an “old man” throughout.

I love that Harris decided to give us perspective from different characters, but felt that Prentiss and Landry deserved more chapters for their inner thoughts. Landry’s murder was disturbing and devastating, but I didn’t feel like I was able to truly mourn that loss. All we get is a quick quiet chapter before he’s killed. The brothers are on the cover of the edition I read, and yet their characters felt much smaller than those of George and Isabelle, which is a shame.

The ending felt a little open-ended to me. I felt sad in the end rather than hopeful. As many other reviewers have mentioned, it starts out strong and then sort of trails off. A good read, but not one I’d necessarily recommend.

I think books like this only come once every few years. It was a delight to read the author's prose is fantastic and the story is fantastic. I do not generally give five star reviews unless the book is something magical that tells a great story and one that stays with you for awhile. This is one of those books.
I was a bit hesitant to read as it was an Oprah Book Club choice. I am glad I took the chance on it. Seriously a great read and one that should become a classic. It is a book of hope and how we should treat one another.

3.5? 3.75? This was close to four stars for me. Solid writing and characterization. Satisfying conclusion. Just a bit slow here and there.