The Sweetness of Water

‘The Sweetness of Water’ by Nathan Harris is an erudite depiction of a small Georgian town turned upside down after the Civil War. In the fictitious town of Old Ox, the white community viciously resists slavery’s end. Without dismantling oppressive social structures, the freedom of former slaves was limited; the seeds of Jim Crow were planted. The dialogue between the characters is filled with palpable tension and glimpses of hope. ‘The Sweetness of Water’ was on the 2021 Booker Prize Long List, President Obama’s 2021 Favorite Book List as well as Oprah’s Book Club selection for June 2021. A gifted writer, Nathan Harris was only 29 years old when this book was published!

George Walker is the primary protagonist. Born in the North, he never embraced the culture of the South. He and his wife Isabelle live on a farm on the outskirts of a fictitious town called Old Ox. The Civil War has ended, and they believe their son Caleb, who fought for the confederacy, is dead. They are bereft. One day, George encounters two former slaves named Landry and Prentiss. The brothers have fled the cruel plantation adjacent to the Walker farm and begun walking toward a new life. What that life will look like, they are not sure. When asked about their plans, Prentiss says, “It’s just nice. To be left alone for a time.” He also states that they want to find their mother, who had been sold. When George offers to pay the brothers a fair wage to help him farm his land, they accept. They will need money for their upcoming journey.

Miraculously, George and Isabelle’s son Caleb is alive and returns home. He joins his father, Landry, and Prentiss, in farming the land. When the townspeople hear that two black men and two white men are working side by side, they are enraged. They feel the Walkers have betrayed the existing social order. Though initially, the townspeople show perfunctory politeness toward the Walkers, there is smoldering resentment.

Like our current times, the people of Old Ox cling to the social hierarchy that puts white men at the top and treats Blacks, gays, women, and other minorities cruelly and unjustly. When a crime is committed that involves the Walkers, the white community doubles down on their racist rhetoric and actions. They believe a price should be paid for white folks who treat Blacks as equals.

Other themes pulse through the story: Caleb’s homosexual relationship with his best friend, the intimacies and distance in the Walker marriage, and the dignity of the freed brothers who have endured so much suffering. Though fewer characters would have made the story a bit crisper, Harris’ writing is quiet, and effective.

The horrid injustices experienced by Black Americans persist 150 years after the Civil War. And though progress has been made, calls for an official apology have been met with hostility. A movement exists to erase the mention of slavery and racism from our history. As Harris states, “The present thunders on while the past is a wound untended, unstitched, felt but never healed.” His book can inspire us to acknowledge the past in order to move toward a better future. 4/5