The Sweetness of Water

Inspired by The Known World and The Underground Railroad, this moving novel explores the extraordinary relationship between two brothers who are freedmen and the Georgia farmer whose support will change both of their lives irrevocably.

After being set free by the Emancipation Proclamation, brothers Prentiss and Landry seek safety on George Walker and his wife Isabelle's homestead in the closing stages of the Civil War. The Walkers, devastated by the death of their lone son in the war, employ the brothers to work their farm in the hopes that an unanticipated bond may ease their sorrow. In the meantime, Prentiss and Landry intend to save money for their trip up north and the possibility of meeting up with their mother, who was sold away when they were young boys.

A forbidden relationship between two Confederate soldiers unfolds in parallel to their story. The young men had their trysts in the woods after returning from the war to the town of Old Ox. However, the uproar that follows the revelation of their secret has devastating effects on the entire neighborhood. Isabelle shows up as an unexpected leader in the wake of all the chaos, offering the newly liberated residents of Old Ox a vision of healing for the land.

Georgia in the bloody Reconstruction crucible is portrayed by debut novelist Nathan Harris through a fascinating ensemble of people, drawn with candor and humanity. An epic whose grandeur finds humanity and love in the most horrific circumstances, The Sweetness of Water is equal parts beauty and terror, as riveting as it is poignant.