The Sweetness Of Water

What’s it about?
The Civil War is ending and brothers Prentiss and Landry have been freed.  They walk off the  plantation and find refuge nearby in the Walkers’ woods.  When George Walker comes upon them he hires them both to work his farm for a fair wage.   The plan is for them to save money and make their way North after the Walker crops come in.  When the Walker’s son, Caleb, unexpectedly returns from the war, a chain of events is triggered that will have an impact on everyone at the Walker farm.

What did it make me think about?
How difficult change is- individually and as a society.

Should I read it?
I enjoyed this novel set after the Civil War and during reconstruction.  Nathan Harris writes characters that are nuanced and complicated. What a time in history.   I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.

Quote-
“What went unspoken was the burden of freedom.  Not that Landry missed Mr. Morton’s ownership- far from it.  No, it was rather that he and his brother had been tethered to each other then.  The chains that held them down also held them together.”