But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers.

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. 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.

Longlisted for the Crook's Corner Book Prize In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, 'a miraculous debut' ( Washington Post) and 'a towering achievement of imagination' ( CBS This Morning) about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever-from 'a storyteller with bountiful insight and assurance' ( Kirkus) A Best Book of the Year: Oprah Daily, NPR, Washington Post, Time, Boston Globe, Smithsonian, Chicago Public Library, BookBrowse, and the OregonianĪ New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceĪ July Indie Next Pick 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. Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence Shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 Winner of the Ernest J.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER / AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK

The sweetness of water by nathan harris