Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

29 reviews

hbc72's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

dramaqueentears's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

Of Women and Salt tells the origin stories of six Cuban & Cuban-American women and a mother and daughter from El Salvador living undocumented in Miami. It begins with Maria Isabel, a cigar roller who lived through the fight for Cuban independence from Spain. Then, we learn about Dolores, the granddaughter of Maria Isabel, who survived an abusive relationship during the Cuban Revolution. It takes us to 2014, where we meet the daughter of Dolores, Carmen, and Carmen’s daughter, Jeanette, who now live in Miami. Jeanette has a rough relationship with Carmen because of previous trauma and her drug addiction. Carmen won’t tell Jeanette anything about why she left Cuba and her family behind, adding more aggravation to their dynamic. 

The story really becomes connected in 2014 when Jeanette takes in a little girl named Ana when the girl’s mother is detained by ICE. 

What I liked:
- The fact that the main plot point surrounding immigrant detention happens in 2014. We need more literature that holds President Obama accountable for his role in that. 
- All of the Cuban/Cuban-American characters were so unlikable but their chapters were so good. 

What I disliked:
- The book was so short that I didn’t feel very connected or even knowledgeable about the characters.
- Other than making a statement about ICE, there was really no reason to include a plot with two characters from El Salvador. They didn’t really add much to the story until the end and Gloria and Ana had no real personalities. 
- The chapters jumped around so frequently. Not a big deal for the chapters written in the 1950’s or the 1890’s, but I had to do a lot of mental math to determine what was going on with the more present-day characters because one chapter would be written in 2019 and the next in 2015.

Overall, I think it could have been better but it was alright! The idea was great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Cancer, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Medical content, and Medical trauma

evilo_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

There were many great parts of the book with many dynamic characters, vivid settings, and detailed prose. Unfortunately, the character we focused on the most, Jeanette, was extremely unlikeable. Her redeeming qualities were almost nonexistent, and while the traumas she endured certainly explained her character they didn’t help her story arc in a fulfilling way. All this to say, I definitely wasn’t prepared for how trauma-heavy this book was and it came as an overwhelmingly depressing surprise that definitely hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Death, Pedophilia, and Racism

Minor: Child abuse

lcg527's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Racism, Infidelity, Incest, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Adult/minor relationship

writemare31's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

To me, this book felt like a collection of deep, descriptive, beautiful short stories. There was a large cast of characters tied together through familial connections, though those connections became taut and stressed as they crossed continents and generations. Each chapter tended to focus on a different character and explored their perspective. There were some stunning lines in this book, immensely creative and satisfying scenes. There was a deep darkness to it as well; it does not resolve your conflicts or aim to make you comfortable. It won't coddle you.

There is a lot to appreciate in this book. The depictions of women are diverse, each character with their distinct personality and troubles, all of them portrayed with depth and care. 

This book did not hit five stars for me because the plot was sprawling. If you asked me to outline the events, I could only name two that actually bring cohesion to the book, and the last one is in the final chapter. The ending felt slightly rushed or forced. I was often fighting confusion as I read through this, despite the clear artistry in the writing. Sometimes a little structure is needed to help bring that artistry to its full potential. 

If I had read almost any of these chapters as stand alone stories, they likely would've earned five stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Racism

pollyflorence's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse

happiestwhenreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

“And I am sorry I had nothing else to offer, Ana. That there are no real rules to govern why some are born in turmoil and others never know a single day in which the next seems an ill-considered bet. It’s all lottery, Ana, all chance. It’s the flick of a coin, and we are born.“

As one of my most highly anticipated reads of Spring 2021, I preordered this one and screamed when I saw its gorgeous cover in person!

There’s a lot happening in this story – a story of five generations of Cuban women which spans from 1866 in Camagüey to present-day Miami, a Salvadorian immigrant and her daughter, Ana, who are deported to Mexico, and lots of characters and timeline jumps. Honestly, it sounds more confusing than it truly is (and the physical book provides a family tree which really helped me keep things straight), but for all that’s happening it shocked me that this book was only around 200 pages!

I loved Garcia’s writing and there were particular parts of the book that I liked more than others. Each chapter almost felt like a short story, and while the stories are all connected, it also made the overall impression feel disjointed and clunky. I was hoping for more, but this was an impressive debut and I’ll be curious how Garcia’s craft develops.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Misogyny

spalmon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Of Women and Salt is made up of interwoven snapshots.  It starts with Jeanette, a young woman struggling with substance abuse in modern-day Miami who takes in her neighbor, a Salvadoran child whose mother has been taken by ICE.  Through a non-linear timeline, we meet Carmen, Dolores, Maria Isabel—the Cuban women who came before her.  And we hear the stories of the Salvadoran women as well.  All of them women who make choices that their daughters may never understand.  Gabriela Garcia’s characters are complex—flawed yet vibrant.  This slim volume is like a toe dipped into a vast ocean of intergenerational trauma and the stories it conjures.  The heartbeat of these stories is survival 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Cancer, Death, Blood, and Alcoholism