![]() ![]() Nancy thinks the water may symbolize first, that water is essential for life, and two, that it represents freedom and that, too, is essential. Linda notes how water reappears as a symbol throughout the book. They also like how George’s wife, Isabelle, also sacrifices prestige and comfort to start an entirely new life. Linda and Nancy like how George changes over the course of the novel and how he finally decides he will take a stand against injustice. Linda like the symbolism of the town’s name, Old Ox, that is set in its old ways. Linda wasn’t surprised at the white neighbors’ indignation that the lead character, George Walker, paid newly-freed slaves the same wage that would be paid white men. ![]() ![]() Linda talks, too, about how the soldiers brought home stories and experiences of their actions as Confederate soldiers. Linda remarks that many characters in the book are bewildered and lost in this period of transition. She also enjoyed that, although the setting is the past, the theme of racial prejudice and anger over passing ways of life felt contemporary. Nancy enjoyed Harris’ evocative writing that draws the reader into a slower time, with a gauzy veiled past. The novel centers on the unlikely relationship between newly-freed slaves and a pacifist farmer in Georgia. ![]() Linny and Nancy discuss Nathan Harris’ debut novel, The Sweetness of Water. ![]()
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