Nathan Harris > Quotes

“...perhaps that was the great ill of the world, that those prone to evil were left untouched by guilt to a degree so vast that they might sleep through a storm, while better men, conscience-stained men, lay awake as though that very storm persisted unyieldingly in the furthest reaches of their soul.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“...each day of each year, a man might imagine a tree in his mind. The tree, upon doing good in the world, could grow strong and thick, but with each poor decision, rot would start to sprout -- gnarled roots at its base, limp branches that snapped with the lightest touch. At the end of any given period -- a month, a year -- it was wise to consider the growth of one's tree, and the decisions you had made that led it there. It was yours to let grow or die.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“They sat in silence, and George found their aversion to speaking welcome. Other than his wife [Isabelle], they seemed like the only individuals he'd come upon in some time who would rather leave a moment naked than tar it with wasted words.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“These were just inventions, of course, and she [Isabelle] lived knowing, quite well, that such things were not promised to her. She might hope for more but had long ago learned to live with whatever came to pass. Yet sometimes--just sometimes--hope was enough.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“...it dawned on him [Landry] that there was less to fear than he'd once imagined, which was maybe a truth he'd long wished to believe--that all danger carried the faint trace of comfort, all wrongs the hint of what may be right.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“Having returned from the war in one piece, Caleb apparently didn't realize how these situations so often ended. No reunion. No resolution. Instead, the spark of life that connects you to the other you cherish simply dims and then goes black entirely. The present thunders on while the past is a wound untended, unstitched, felt but never healed.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“The man had sparse, oily hair parted down the center and that particular style of wiry, unkempt mustache that reached so far from his face it seemed liable to attack passersby.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“...and so it dawned on him that there was less to fear than he'd once imagined, which was maybe a truth he'd long wished to believe—that all danger carried the faint trace of comfort, all wrongs the hint of what may be right.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“...she let go of his shoulder and watched him off, pondering, once more, how far two siblings might grow apart without ever losing the bond that united them.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“Every time he fell, we were there. That is all that could be asked of either of us.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“What if my name was Daniel, Lucas, Noah. Lucas Harris, That doesn't sound right. I think I'll stick with Nate.”
― Nathan Harris

“Caleb made for the stairs and did not slow down as the boy called out to him. There was an undeniable rush to the way he climbed to the second floor. He had no idea what he might find there, but knew that August, if he still had any care for him at all, would welcome the imposition. How else might he respond to someone so willing to fight for a friendship, someone who might put all social boundaries aside to risk the chance to say hello?”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“I suppose no one owns a claim on suffering," he said at last.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water

“Prentiss had learned from Landry that the language of grief was often nothing more than silence...For so long Landry had been the focus of his dreams, his world, and Prentiss felt there was a selfishness in his brother's sudden absence, as though rather than truly dying, Landry had been set free, only to leave Prentiss in the horror of living without the very person who had made doing so worthwhile.”
― Nathan Harris, The Sweetness of Water