Amity

“A riveting adventure tale that brings a chaotic era to life.”

“Harris returns with another transporting historical novel...[A] glorious Western-style melodrama.”

“Coleman, an empathetic soul, is the heart of Harris’s character-driven western, giving this harrowing tale sweetness, while June manifests the fortitude to survive as a recently emancipated Black woman in the nascent American Southwest.”

“A smart, sensitive and very assured novel…Harris’s perceptive writing of the fraught relationships between Amity’s central characters is outstanding, and shows a deep consideration of the more subtle ways that white supremacy undergirds “civilised” middle-class society in the American south.”

“Amity...is quietly breathtaking. Chronicling the journeys of separated Black siblings across a tumultuous post-Civil War landscape, the book delivers a riveting tale of survival, relationship, and courage...[A] gorgeous, evocative triumph."

“In Nathan Harris, Reconstruction has at last found its 21st-century novelist…we ought to celebrate this talented young writer’s translation of a neglected era for our present."

“[Amity] takes readers on a riveting voyage through the desert, as Coleman and June struggle to find each other and, ultimately, their freedom.”

"A swiftly moving, brutal account of a time and place where political turmoil and an unforgiving landscape meant death was always near…Painful, powerful, and bittersweet."

"Vivid…The well-developed plot generates strong suspense. It’s an indelible slice of postbellum border history."

"A smartly imagined western with a different sort of hero...To top off a skillfully constructed plot, Harris has a gift for vivid imagery...and period language...A memorable, impeccably written tale that engages the reader, with its twists and turns, from beginning to end."

"To call Nathan Harris's Amity a standout novel doesn't do it enough justice. The writing is flawless, the characters unforgettable and, most importantly, the story the world Harris builds never lets us go. A brilliantly executed book."

"I fell into this stunning novel as into another world, with the shock of encountering something truly original. An epic tale of a budding genius pulled through the borderlands, Amity is harrowing, often beautiful, and deeply moving.”

“Nathan Harris proves once again that he is one of the greatest literary minds of our generation. The appropriately titled Amity is a mightily engrossing tale, filled with magnificently realized and unforgettable characters in a world that is so thoroughly imagined. Harris employs such careful, balanced storytelling, crafting a novel that is at once harrowing and gentle, dangerous but romantic. Readers will find that for every sorrow there is a joy and for every fool there is a lesson. And it is all woven together with such impeccable prose. Amity is a deeply adventurous and astonishingly beautiful book."

"Amity is one of those novels you want to savor. I found myself rereading entire passages just to absorb the richness of every word. Wholly engaging all the senses and fully immersive, Amity brings to life an important historical moment I knew nothing about, one that deserves to be taught in schools. It’s a recipe for literary greatness."