Reviews

Salt by Earl Lovelace

samantha_shain's review

5.0

This is one of the most literarily distinguished books that I read this year, from beautiful sentences and syntax; round, complex characters; inventive form; and critical political commentary. I struggled with the book sometimes (I think reading it in a group or a class would be a better format for me, not the best book to pick up and put down, or read before bed since it does require some intellectual focus and attention) but nonetheless, I was captivated by the characters, sense of time and place, poetic prose, and polyvocal narration. Sometimes I felt that Bango and Alford were a bit *too* stereotypical or a political prop, but then I felt like that tension was addressed proactively and ultimately resolved at the end of the book. Major bonus points for women having space for introspection, political commentary, and agency!!! One of my favorite moments was Alford's growing self-awareness as a teacher with high expectations. I think to really get everything that this book has to offer, I would need to read it again and keep a character chart. That's not a complaint, but an invitation!

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

 Salt follows Alford George from a young child who didn’t speak until he was six, through his career as a teacher and then a politician. But it weaves in many other characters and points of view and in so doing offers insights into the history and more contemporary (the the time of writing) social, economic and political conditions in Trinidad and Tobago. The interactions, similarities and difference between the enslaved and their descendants, and the indentured servants (primarily Indian) and their descendants was one aspect I found especially intersting and incisive. This was an engaging read which vividly brought the country to life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Racism

issyt's review

found it hard to continue

goatfarmer's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

ritrotman's review against another edition

challenging funny medium-paced

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

5.0

snowflakeanddan's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

joeybiscuit's review

challenging reflective

4.5

burrowsi1's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

themillennialjareads's review

4.0

Reading "Salt" I feel how young the Caribbean still is. I think sometimes we forget that. Some of us are barely 50 years old, this year America turns 244 years old and look at the conundrum they are still facing. But America and any Caribbean country's trajectory aren't comparable. One country's wealth was built off slave labor while the other was left with nothing but trauma and broken backs. No 10 acres and a mule either.

"Carnival belongs to all the peoples of the island. Living as we were so close to one another, any creation or practice by any group in the island achieved its character because of the presence of the others in the midst"

Lovelace writes in such a potently Caribbean voice, it's unmistakably Trini, this energy moves through lines I revisit, soaking up and finding new meanings, thinking how relevant this text still is. I don't feel like a stranger in this novel. I'm not reading about some time in the distant past. It's narrating our recent and present state.

Salt is about everything that makes Trinidad & Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago

rohinipk's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

5.0