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libbysbookshelf 's review for:
The Sweetness of Water
by Nathan Harris
THE SWEETNESS OF WATER by NATHAN HARRIS
I didn’t read this when it was longlisted for the Booker because I saw too many mixed reviews. However, @dylanthomasprize tells me to jump and I’ll say how high!
It was a strange experience reading this book. I felt like a lot of the ingredients were there for this to be an epic masterpiece, but it didn’t quite come together for me. There was some beautiful language and imagery throughout and I can fully visualise the whole town of Old Ox in my mind even now. The characters were beautifully drawn and developed and there were moments of heartache. But I didn’t feel fully attached and I was bored at some points. I wonder if it’s because I’m a woman’s woman and a lot of this novel felt quite masculine. War and violence are all well and good for me from the point of view of the women, but I don’t feel as connected when it’s all about men. Isn’t enough of life already all about men? And I must point out that there was a fantastic female character in this book, and she was very well written, but I would have loved more of her, or more female characters.
The only time I like a story about men is when there is an element of LGBTQ+ stuff going on, and this book had a bit of that, which I really enjoyed.
I suppose my conclusion is that this book is great for people who don’t crave female characters as much as I do! And it’s good for people like me.
Having said all this, I won’t hesitate to read whatever this writer brings out next because I enjoyed a lot of his themes and his turn of phrase.
#dylanthomasprize #thesweetnessofwater #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #booklover #bookstagramreadsthebooker
I didn’t read this when it was longlisted for the Booker because I saw too many mixed reviews. However, @dylanthomasprize tells me to jump and I’ll say how high!
It was a strange experience reading this book. I felt like a lot of the ingredients were there for this to be an epic masterpiece, but it didn’t quite come together for me. There was some beautiful language and imagery throughout and I can fully visualise the whole town of Old Ox in my mind even now. The characters were beautifully drawn and developed and there were moments of heartache. But I didn’t feel fully attached and I was bored at some points. I wonder if it’s because I’m a woman’s woman and a lot of this novel felt quite masculine. War and violence are all well and good for me from the point of view of the women, but I don’t feel as connected when it’s all about men. Isn’t enough of life already all about men? And I must point out that there was a fantastic female character in this book, and she was very well written, but I would have loved more of her, or more female characters.
The only time I like a story about men is when there is an element of LGBTQ+ stuff going on, and this book had a bit of that, which I really enjoyed.
I suppose my conclusion is that this book is great for people who don’t crave female characters as much as I do! And it’s good for people like me.
Having said all this, I won’t hesitate to read whatever this writer brings out next because I enjoyed a lot of his themes and his turn of phrase.
#dylanthomasprize #thesweetnessofwater #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #booklover #bookstagramreadsthebooker