Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

18 reviews

cry279's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read this for a book club but was not excited for it. Boy did it surprise me. I laughed and I bawled my eyes out. The characters make the story.  Due to the time period there is heavy racism discussed and is a  key story point. There are scenes that are hard to get through. Also if you use adiobooks there are many slurs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Death, Hate crime, Murder, War, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Racism

kylosten's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, War, and Violence

Moderate: Hate crime and Homophobia

what_is_emma_reading's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content

Minor: War

voela321's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This story centers around 2 families at the end of the Civil War. 2 brothers, formerly enslaved, are coping with their new found freedom in a part of the country that wants them only as enslaved people.  The Walkers- a white couple in the South who did not necessarily support the Confederacy—hire the brothers to work their farm, believing their son died in the war. When son Caleb returns—having deserted and run away from the war—all 3 Walkers develop a relationship with the brothers. Caleb is involved in a secret homosexual relationship and it’s discovery by one of the brothers leads to tragedy upon tragedy that affects everyone. This is a beautiful book, both tragic and hopeful. In the end it is Isabelle (Mrs Walker) who is left to stand up and lead the way forward. Highly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Homophobia, and Slavery

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Stunning prose highlighting grief, life, and finding ways to move on in the face of absolute tragedy. I liked this book, but it is not an easy read. If you’re looking for something thoughtful and beautifully written, or something to channel strong emotions through that’s outside of your own life, this is a great pick. I read it for a Storygraph reading challenge and didn’t regret it even though it has all the features I avoid period pieces for. I was a little disappointed in how  ableist tropes come into play in Landry’s story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and War

Death of family members

spark_879's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

saff10's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Pros : 

It was well written and you got a feel for each character. Even though it was quite slow paced I didn’t hit a lull as Harris’ writing style did manage to push me through the slower parts, I wanted to see where we’d end up next in the story.

Cons,

I did feel like I was holding my breath in anticipation waiting for something that just didn’t happen throughout this book. The characters were each explored fully but the plot left a lot to be desired. I think because the book was written from the perspective of George (who plays this white saviour role) it made the whole thing feel slightly white-washed; as though Harris was trying to make the book more palatable and less “heavy”. I was expecting something a bit more realistic so overall this book was disappointing for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Homophobia

deedireads's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

I found The Sweetness of Water to be easy to sink into, a compelling story. I’m not sure I would have put it on the Booker longlist, myself, but I did like it. (PSA: It’s not a queer story, as the cover blurb suggests.)

For you if: You like historical fiction.

FULL REVIEW:

I read The Sweetness of Water because it was longlisted for last year’s Booker Prize. It was one I was most eager to read, particularly because the cover blurb positioned it as a partially queer novel set during American reconstruction. Unfortunately, this is a significant mischaracterization. Fortunately, I was warned beforehand and was able to go into the reading experience without that errant expectation.

The story is about two brothers, recently freed from the institution of slavery, who find themselves in the woods of George and Isabel Walker, who are white. (Minor spoiler ahead.) When their son, against all odds, returns from the Civil War, it sets off a violent chain reaction that leaves our characters’ lives overturned, and exposes just how far their town still has to go.

I read this book in just a few sittings — I sank into it easily and found myself swept up in first the characters, then the story (as the first and second halves of the book seem to focus on those things one at a time, respectively). The prose, too, is beautifully written. I think it had some interesting things to say about masculinity and deciding to speak up for what you feel to be right even when you know it’s the self-destructive thing to do. That said, as many of my fellow book club members expressed, the reader is left uncertain what Harris’s thesis is — because if it’s the obvious one, we remained a bit unconvinced.

All in all, a solid read if you need something compelling, although I’m note sure I’d have put it on the Booker list myself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

Minor: War, Homophobia, and Death

amndaj's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This 100% will be turned into a book one day. Read it before it does. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, War, Colonisation, Outing, Physical abuse, Classism, Grief, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Minor: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

eddie_dee's review

dark reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Contemporary classic. Reconstruction Era (1863 – 1877). Personal & societal upheaval. Courage. Loss.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, War, and Homophobia

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury