Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Winner
of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence 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.
With
candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an
unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent
crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as
gripping as it is moving, The
Sweetness of Water is an
epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing
circumstances.