Review: Why "The Sweetness of Water" is this summer's it book

Last week we exclaimed over author Maggie Shipstead’s success so far this year.

Nathan Harris, though, could certainly make a case for an equally astounding (if not more so) 2021.

His debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, made a splash (no pun intended) by becoming an Oprah’s Book Club selection.

Former President Barack Obama, too, highlighted the historical-fiction book set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

And then it, like Shipstead’s Great Circle, landed on the Booker Prize longlist.

So … should you read it?

Carole V. Bell, who reviewed the book for NPR, lists these and several other reasons why The Sweetness of Water feels so topical.

It doesn’t have an answer for the question it poses — how to make peace after such bitter strife — but in her opinion, its efforts to address it make for a worthwhile read.

Read her review of The Sweetness of Water — and also, if you’ve read it, let us know what you thought.