In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, a profound debut about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever.

Reviews

Dan Wan

The Sweetness of Water is a contemporary classic about the Reconstruction period of the southern states after the Civil War. George is a transplanted northerner in Georgia. Originally content to sell off his land to make ends meet, after the War, he looks to make his mark on his remaining acres. To do so, he hires two recently freed men. As would be expected, this doesn’t go over well with the plantation owners who have lost their slaves or the recently returned Confederate soldiers.

His own son, Caleb, was a confederate soldier, but unlike the others, he disgraced himself on the battlefield. He is also engaged in an illicit love affair which is a subplot of the story. It’s obvious none of these stories are going to end well and they don’t. I can see why Oprah picked this for her book club. The characters are richly drawn, and I was drawn into George’s fight to do the right thing. But it’s not just George, everyone is so developed that I could see them standing before me. Parts of the story were so tense, I had to keep putting the book down.

There are multiple themes in the book - equality, prejudice, love in all its various guises. But above all, the book focuses on finding one’s courage regardless of the repercussions. Every single one of the main characters is put in that position.

I recommend this for fans of The Water Dancer - the same rich language, the same depth of sorrow. But this book does end on a small note of hope. Credit to Harris for writing such a profound book as a debut and at a fairly young age.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown for an advance copy of this book.

Karina

This is a heartbreaking but hopeful novel .. written so beautifully.. and this is one that I went into blind.. and enjoyed it so much, so I’m not going to say much about it.

I will say that this author did an outstanding job on character development.

I especially loved George and Isabelle Walker.. the white land owners who employ two brothers who are emancipated slaves to work their land. This is set in a town in Georgia, just as the Civil War is ending and just after the Emancipation.

So many topics in this book… an emotionally distant marriage, race relations and tension, murder, a gay romance. Just read this!