The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

Longlisted for the Booker Prize.

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR SUMMER 2021 'A storyteller with bountiful insight and assurance' Kirkus 

In the dying days of the American Civil War, newly freed brothers Landry and Prentiss find themselves cast into the world without a penny to their names. Forced to hide out in the woods near their former Georgia plantation, they're soon discovered by the land's owner, George Walker, a man still reeling from the loss of his son in the war.

When the brothers begin to live and work on George's farm, the tentative bonds of trust and union begin to blossom between the strangers. But this sanctuary survives on a knife's edge, and it isn't long before the inhabitants of the nearby town of Old Ox react with fury at the alliances being formed only a few miles away . .

Readers have been swept away by The Sweetness of Water: 'Such a powerful, magnificent book; I urge you to read it. The comparisons with Colson Whitehead are justified' 'A staggering debut and a story that stays with you' 'Thought-provoking and moving . . . a gripping and compelling novel that exposes flaws, mixed emotions and imperfect relationships, and yet it holds on with determination and hope.

It fully deserves a 5-star rating' 'Outstanding . . .

A book that deserves widespread recognition and a wide audience'