Reconstruction will prove to be yet another lie. Prentiss and Landry are technically free, but they remain trapped by a lifetime of blighted hopes and broken promises. Harris’ lucid prose and vivid characterization illustrate a community at war with itself, poisoned by pride and mired in racial and sexual bigotry. A climactic revelation in the woods on a dark night throws the entire community into chaos, pitting neighbor against neighbor and father against son, suggesting that the war has not actually ended. As the summer advances, secrets and hidden desires come to light, some as sweet as Isabelle’s peach preserves, others bitter and terrifying. Their connection to the Walkers bemuses and disgusts other white residents, especially the aristocratic Weblers, whose son, August, had been Caleb’s best friend. George and Isabelle Walker, mourning their son Caleb’s death in the war, take in Prentiss and Landry, two young brothers formerly enslaved on the neighboring plantation, who dream of reconnecting with their mother, who was long ago sold away. Near Old Ox, Georgia, resentful whites grieve their loss and formerly enslaved Blacks tentatively, hopefully turn their eyes towards freedom.
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