Slow Water by Annamarie Jagose

Slow Water is a lush, meditative historical novel set between early-19th-century New Zealand and England, following an Anglican missionary whose fierce sense of duty collides with unspoken desire. As he moves between Māori communities and the strictures of the British church, shifting tides of faith, power, and intimacy test what he believes about love, language, and himself. Jagose writes in sensuous, tidal rhythms—attentive to the textures of weather, bodies, and landscape—crafting a story about longing and consequence without spoiling the turns that carry the protagonist toward a reckoning.

The 17008th greatest book of all time


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