Reviews - The Sweetness of Water

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1.53k reviews for:

The Sweetness of Water

Nathan Harris

4.05 AVERAGE

jmr33090's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

superdaang's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

psycheros's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jcunning57's review against another edition

4.0

dark hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Well developed story line, some conventional racist plot points but the ending left you with some redemption and hope for the future.

austinsgrace's review against another edition

4.25

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

livlosiewicz's review against another edition

4.75

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Pros:
•the characters were distinct and well-developed. They all managed to surprise me, while everything they did also made perfect sense
•I like stories about relationships and imperfect people, both of which feature heavily here. I really liked the way that the story unfolded and how it had an arc but not a bow

Cons:
•It’s a little heavy and a little wordy- not too much so (didn’t make me cry, just bummed me out, and didn’t leave me lost but did require me to go back and reread sections when I was distracted)
•I guess I also feel like I should have connected with the characters a little more? Maybe it was just the headspace I was in while reading but I sort of think the book should have made me cry, yet I didn’t feel connected enough for it to elicit that

Recommendation: I recommend to people who like historical fiction and character/relationship based stories! This was really well-written and I really liked it. I’m seeing it be compared to the Water Dancer and the Underground Railroad, and while I get the comparison, I’ll note that I liked this one better, particularly than The Water Dancer, where I sometimes got lost in the language. I think the writing in this book lifts up its themes and characters instead of overshadowing them, which I really appreciated. Avoid if you want something light, as this is certainly melancholic, or plot-based, as this one is generally not.