A beautifully written and heart-wrenching book, The Sweetness of Water sometimes reads like a dreamscape. Setting his story in a recently-emancipated Southern town, Nathan Harris shows how the reality of change is slow to come for individuals and gives us a glimpse into the chaos this sudden emancipation proclamation could cause. All the main characters in this novel are looking for direction in their lives, including George and Isabelle, who employ two newly-freed slaves, Prentiss and Landry, found camping in their woods. Their stories weave together and unfold in surprising directions as their refreshing sincerity is met with the harshness of other viewpoints and actions.Publisher description:
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.