I thought Nathan Harris's writing is very solid, very lyrical at times and very promising. The telling of the story, however, was so-so and meandering, and that's why I didn't give this first novel four or five stars.
I did like the relationships between George, Prentiss, and Landry. What I didn't like forced upon me was learning that Caleb was alive and then about his relationship with August. I thought that part of the plot was a bit forced. Oh, and one of the critics called the moment between Caleb and August in the field where Landry saw them, "Erotic and very telling." Really? The entire moment was maybe two short paragraphs. It wasn't erotic. And it only supported what the two boys had done prior to going off to war and I imagine during their time away. I thought the whole thing form me was a nothing burger.
What I found implausible, was the sudden fire that burned down nearly the entire town, as if that were a metaphor for bad karma and somehow this town needed to be cleansed of its evil past. The other thing I did not find believable was how easily the sheriff caught up to George, Caleb, and Prentiss after the aforementioned had more than a day's head start. Even with George on his donkey Ridley and Caleb and Prentiss sharing a horse, there is no way, the Sheriff would so easily catch up to them. And once Caleb and Prentiss take off on foot and George is left to fend off the posse where he's shot, doesn't explain how suddenly the Sheriff didn't take off and capture Caleb and Prentiss, based on the ease it took him and his posse to track and reach them after more that a day to catch up.
Another part of the story that bothered me, was what happened to August? After all, he murdered Landry. For me, that's a big deal. It's as if the author and editor believed they didn't really need to address it, and had that character flit off to somewhere else. leading me to believe that somehow he had gotten away with it, which he did. I think Harris owed it to us to sew this up much better than he did.
Finally, the one character that I did believe and like how she had grown from beginning to end, was Isabelle. I thought Harris did a very nice job with her and I believed her coming around and growing from the time she encountered the two freedmen especially Landry. Also her relationship with her husband and her son Caleb. I thought the author did a very nice job with Isabelle giving the freedmen and women, and any man for that matter the opportunity to farm fifteen acres for themselves. That part of the story was very well told. Also, I liked the ancillary character Clementine, although I thought her last encounter with Isabelle was rushed and wasn't really fleshed out.
In sum, this was a very good first novel, but I question Oprah's decision to promote this particular book when there are many more deserving novels out there (historical fiction) that told a much better story, had more convincing characters, dialogue and grit, a better plot, and more universal themes than this simple tale. In the end, I look forward to this young man's next book.
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The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris is set in the post Civil War South. Like my novel The Real Wakandas of Africa: Dr. John Henrik Clarke vs. Herman Cain this book addresses many of the difficulties that Black people faced upon becoming free. It is a work of historical fiction. The author spends a considerable amount of time providing details around his characters’ challenges. The story is set in a southern town with two newly freed brothers. While the characters are well developed, the author takes a considerable amount of time to tell their stories. Nevertheless, this is certainly worth a read. Like this book, I also discuss post Civil War racism in my novel The Real Wakandas of Africa: Dr. John Henrik Clarke vs. Herman Cain. However, unlike other novels that only focus upon the oppression of Black people, I present the rich history of African people before slavery and colonialism. This history is frequently ignored. In my novel I reference more than 200 factual sources. Yet this is done in the context of an easy to read story. Prior to slavery and colonialism Africans conducted surgery on the eye 700 years ago, performed cesarean sections with antiseptics before this was done in the rest of the world, and constructed Buildings which stood as the tallest buildings in the world for more than 4000 years. Africans built a wall for which I also wrote a book called: The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall. It is stories like these that are often missing from books about Black people. In all, The Sweetness of Water is a worthy read. If you spend the time getting to know the characters presented in this book, you will genuinely appreciate it.
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RP FRAZER
A wise and measured story, beautifully told
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 27, 2021Babyboomer
Such a wonderful read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 19, 2021
