Reviews with content warning for Death - Salt Slow

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield

32 reviews

myk_yeah's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Magnificent. Reminds me a lot of “What is Not Yours is Not Yours” by Helen Oyeyemi.
A collection of dark short stories and great sapphic representation. Beautiful writing, human themed with a creepy touch.

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So feral so gorgeous love love love

Mantis
The Great Awake
The Collectables
Formerly Feral
Stop your women's ears with wax
Granite
Smack
Cassandra After
salt slow

‘The key, she has been taught by the books she reads, is to love a man slightly less than he loves you’

‘These objects sit around the house like a dumping of useless artefacts; archaeological pieces too mundane to be brought back from the dig.’

‘She will imagine herself sinking down, becoming something less than solid, spilling insides onto the sand’

‘Occasionally, I convinced myself I had made it all up - love, attraction, all of it - that I had made it up with everyone I'd ever met.’

‘In the morning, I told the woman messaging me on the dating site that I couldn't talk to her just yet; I was sweeping the bones of a girl I had loved off the kitchen floor.’

‘The sky is gory with stars, like the insides of a gutted night.’

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whatdanireads_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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aimnorth's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book reads like a collection of spooky, unsettling, and interesting stories that are fantastic. They have layers of both the surface story as well as the meaning beneath it.

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linguaphile412's review

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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morgancleaver's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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reyeve__'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

stunningly written
absolutely horrifying in places

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miamcmillan's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

overwhelmingly weird. i probably shouldn’t have read this directly after finishing “her body and other parties” because now my brain instinctively wants to compare them and say that while machado’s collection was separate and weird, armfield’s was engaging and personal and direct and weird. the title story made me absolutely squirm i hated it and the concept and i was entirely, unsettlingly hooked. “stop your women’s ears with wax” was my favourite along with salt slow; it just consumed me with a sense of bacchic frenzy that reminded me of the bacchae by euripides and intrigued me all at one time. something i loved was the indifference of the characters (i don’t know how else to describe this) which was conveyed without making them distant and stagnant. i also loved the collectables for its sheer unconcernedness? overall a very reluctantly magnetic and beautifully written little anthology <3 (also a very quick read if that’s what you’re looking for)

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ceallaighsbooks's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“…I understood the way the surface of the world is thinner in certain places. That these places are where the strange, true things escape.” — from “Cassandra After” in salt slow, by Julia Armfield

TITLE—salt slow

AUTHOR—Julia Armfield

PUBLISHED—2019

GENRE—short stories; literary fiction; modern gothic literature

SETTING—Britain…? mostly?

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—queerness, otherness, gender criticism, horror, fairytale themes & motifs, gothic themes & motifs, dark academia, death, grief, animal motifs

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORIES/PLOTS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—A few tales had strong dark fairytale and witchy vibes that were done really well!

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“My father said a town was only as interesting as its bad apples and only as safe as its lunatics.” — from “Formerly Feral”

This was such a great, gothic, atmospheric read with gorgeously told, very dark stories with a strange sort of beauty that also had a strangely lovely, calming feel to them. I especially enjoyed Formerly Feral and Smack though there wasn’t a single story that I didn’t like. I would most recommend bringing this collection with you on your next off season seaside vacation.

“The sky is gory with stars, like the insides of a gutted night.” — from “Salt Slow”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

TW // body horror, grief, divorce, mental illness (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, by Mariana Enríquez
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, by Helen Oyeyemi
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories, by Tove Jansson
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold, by Daisy Johnson and others
Dark Tales, by Shirley Jackson
The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter
Nudibranch, by Irenosen Okojie—TBR

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