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The Sweetness of Water (Oprah’s Book Club)

A Novel

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The Sweetness of Water (Oprah’s Book Club)

Written by: Nathan Harris
Narrated by: William DeMeritt
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About this listen

An Instant New York Times bestseller / An Oprah’s Book Club Pick

In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, an award-winning “miraculous debut” (Washington Post) about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever

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.

One of President Obama's Favorite Books of 2021

Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction

Winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Book Award for Fiction


Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize

Shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award


Longlisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Longlisted for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize

A Best Book of the Year: Oprah Daily, NPR, Washington Post, Time, Boston Globe, Smithsonian, Chicago Public Library, BookBrowse, and the Oregonian

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

A July 2021 Indie Next Pick

Fiction Genre Fiction World Literature War Feel-Good Southern Historical Fiction

What the critics say

“Harris’s debut novel is remarkable; that he’s only 29 is miraculous. His prose is burnished with an antique patina that evokes the mid-19th century. And he explores this liminal moment in our history with extraordinary sensitivity to the range of responses from Black and White Americans contending with a revolutionary ideal of personhood... All of this is drawn with gorgeous fidelity to these cautious characters, struggling to remake the world, or at least this little patch of it... Harris stacks the timbers of this plot deliberately, and the moment a spark alights, the whole structure begins to burn hot... What’s most impressive about Harris’s novel is how he attends to the lives of these peculiar people while capturing the tectonic tensions at play in the American South.”—Ron Charles, Washington Post
“Beautiful... An instant classic... This book is profound.”—Jenna Bush Hager, Wall Street Journal
“This debut novel astonished us as much for its wise, lyrical voice as for its dense realization of a fictional small town in the American South at a rarely written-about moment, the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. We were incredibly impressed by the way it probes themes of trans-historical importance—about race, sexuality, violence, and grief—through meticulously-drawn characters and a patient examination of their relationships.”—Booker Prize committee
“As I read this masterful novel I kept thinking—this young 29-year-old is a first-time author, so how did he do this?... As the best writers can do, Nathan takes us back in time, and helps us to feel we are right there with Prentiss and Landry as they get their first taste of freedom. I rooted for them, and feared for them too."—Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Daily
All stars
Most Relevant
The story takes a little bit to get into but worth the wait. Beautifully written. Was deeply engrossed and sad for it to end

Beautiful

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this book is totally engaging. the descriptive writing will make you lose yourself loved

execellent

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I enjoyed the story and it kept me engaged throughout. Thank you for this endearing story.

Wonderful story

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Excellent story with excellent narration. I enjoyed this story and recommend it highly. Included love, drama, crisis, relationships. I truly was sorry when it ended.

Sorry when it finished

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The reader of this book does an amazing job of distinguishing the voices of all of the characters. The book is beautifully written and very sad but an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend listening to it.

An Engaging Story

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There was potential for the story but I found it very hard to listen to, Too Slow and Too Descriptive. I finished it for my book club but would not recommend it to anyone.

Too Slow - Too descriptive

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I was super disappointed with the story as there were great reviews of people not wanting it to end. I only made it until chapter 7 and could not take the dark, slow and perverse homosexual and violent events. It feels as though generational sexual abuse may be part of the upcoming plot to account for the twisted behavior. Nothing was enjoyable about the plot and felt bad for all the depressed, hopeless characters. Would not recommend.

Dark and perverse undertones

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