The Sweetness of Water
Nathan Harris's acclaimed 2021 debut is set in the fictional town of Old Ox, Georgia, in the closing days of the Civil War, as emancipation unsettles a community unprepared for it. When Prentiss and Landry, two recently freed brothers, take shelter on the land of George Walker, a reclusive farmer mourning a son lost to the war, an unexpected working partnership forms between them. As George and his wife Isabelle quietly defy the expectations of their neighbors, a parallel story unfolds involving two Confederate soldiers whose secret relationship threatens to expose everyone to the town's fury. Harris writes in graceful, measured prose about freedom, grief, prejudice, and the fragile possibility of human connection in a place poisoned by slavery. The novel earned wide praise and a spot on award lists for its emotional depth.
What you might want to know about The Sweetness of Water
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In the final days of the Civil War, two freed brothers and a quietly grieving white couple form unlikely bonds on a Georgia farm, with dangerous consequences.
It takes place in the final days of the American Civil War and its immediate aftermath, in the fictional town of Old Ox, Georgia.
Yes. It is his debut novel, published in 2021, and it earned wide critical acclaim and recognition on major award lists.
The Sweetness of Water was written by Nathan Harris, published in 2021 by Little, Brown and Company.
The Sweetness of Water is 368 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Sweetness of Water takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
The Sweetness of Water is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
