The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

This is set in the time immediately following the end of our Civil War. What has been lost,what has been gained for people in the southern town of Old Ox? Giving slaves freedom does not give them means to exist.Nor does it grant them the recognition of their humanity by the majority of whites and certainly not equality under the law. A black man namedPrentiss is to be hung for spitting in a white man’s face…because this man hashad no more compassion for his poor lost brother than one might have for the death of a swatted mosquito. When told the dead man was Prentiss’ gentle brother, his last connection to kin, it has no impact on the man. Prentiss will be hung with out trial.George Walker, Prentiss’employer, who hired him and his brother,Landry, worked beside them, as did his son Calib, paid them the same wages as a white and successfully sought to form a genuine friendship with the brothers cannot see this injustice stand. Nor can Calib for his own reasons.Always standing as a seeker of the truth is George’s wife Isabelle,a woman who struggles to find the strands of their shared humanity and knit them together into a whole cloth in which they can each find comfort , understanding and perhaps, just perhaps joy and even love.One of the greatest aspects of this book,for me, is the author’s ability to see inside the hearts and minds of his characters and provide us with the means to feel empathyfor them. If we all could do so inlife how much more kindness we would show those with whom we share this life… how much more hatred might we be able to let go? Well we can be the change we want to see ( to paraphrase a wise man) and at leastwe will live a better life .

It’s approximately the late 1800’s when Landry and Prentiss show up at George and Isabel’s farm. They make a deal with George to help him plant in exchange for land they can use to make money. Eventually, they plan to move away from this part if the south and look for their mother, from whom they were separated for many years. The first half of the story allows us to get acclimated to the people in the coomunuty, the brothers and George’s family, including their son Caleb, who had deserted his army troop towards the end of the war.But then something huge happens, and the story takes a huge turn — it goes from being a sort of slice of life, with the rest of the times there in the background, to becoming a true post-Civil War tale of how white people treated Black people and how the government was, at least for a time, ineffectual, to make the necessary changes to protect the newly freed slaves.After this event, the main characters grow and change in ways that make them proud — some have no choice because of he circumstances, and others, need to if they can ever have a shred of self- respect.And beyond all this is a book about the different types of love in our lives whether it’s same gender, long term spouses, brothers, parents and children, friends, and other iterations. That’s pretty much the reason that the book is sweet and sad.

This story started slow for me and then about half way through it became something I couldn’t put down. This beautiful story about a man who is trying to be better in the new state of the world in the south employed two newly freed black men and from there is his family, friends and two will never be the same. Certainly not the lives of those two black men.

A heartbreaking and inspiring story set in the south just after the end of slavery. Written with exquisite detail and sensitivity, this book pulled me in and held my attention and often my breath from beginning to end. I came to know and love some of the characters, to hate and fear others and in the end to feel humbled and awed by the sheer messiness and reality that is life. Thank you, Nathan Harris, for this deeply moving journey.

I was captivated from page one to the end of this book. Nathan Harris shapes and evolves several intriguing themes on top of the telling of an important story of hard fought freedom once slavery ended. Unbelievably well written and astonishing this is Harris’ first book. Keep on writing sir!

This book has a plot that pulls you in and captures you so that you can't put it down. The characters are convincing, and you can picture each scene as if you are watching a movie. The plot has twists and turns, and the dialogue seems authentic, except for a very few instances in which lapse into what might be 21st century colloquial expressions, not appropriate for post-Civil War Southern characters. However, overall this book is a great read.

I like a book with a bit more conversation rather so descriptive. However, I did enjoy. Well written. Good historical novel. I would recommend.

Came in great condition

Its a book !!!

I really enjoyed this book. It's well written and I felt transported into Old Ox, living amongst the well built characters.I'll warn though that there are parts of this book that don't make for easy reading, and I felt myself trying to get through some chapters before putting it down not because I was so engrossed, but because I wanted them to be over without having to return to them.The story is well thought out, the characters well realised and the setting is described so well I found myself thinking of it in the hours between readings.The story could have been a lot shorter, and while the prose was lovely, it did feel like a bit of a slog at some points with little happening despite various plot points hanging in the air.On the whole though, this was a good read and I'm glad I chose it. I'd definitely give another book by this author a go in the future.

This was a very good novel, with a smart and well-developed plot. The main characters are presented by an omniscient narrator who draws the reader into the world of each protagonist. The author covers numerous themes that can relate to today's world, which I found made this novel worth my time to read.

It is an uncommon but welcome occurrence when a new novelist bursts out of the starting gate with an outstanding novel. Nathan Harris has done so with his debut novel “The Sweetness of Water”.The novel is set at the end of the U.S. Civil War in rural Georgia when the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves from the southern plantations. That freedom is a double-edge sword as experienced by brothers Prentiss and Landry who are adrift with no means of earning a living or keeping a roof over their heads.George Walker, grieving the apparent death of his son in the war, is jolted out of his habitual complacency and hires the brothers to work his farm as a new vision for his life unfolds. The controversial decision, combined with the taboo relationship of two Confederate soldiers, sets off a chain of events with tragic consequences. The unfolding of events depicts this tumultuous time in the deep south.Nathan Harris has a gift for both powerful, lyrical prose and for crafting complex, layered and compelling characters who struggle to overcome their circumstances and their own character flaws. Harris has created an epic and memorable work in the “The Sweetness of Water” which very much deserves of the widespread praise it has received.

What the heck Oprah you made me waste my time and money on this book BORING AND I CAN'T GET PAST CHAPTER THREE