Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Of Women and Salt

Of Women and Salt is a multi-generational story of five generations of Cuban women, although the focus is heavily on the contemporary Miami based mother-daughter pair, Carmen and Jeanette. Their stories also intersect with those of undocumented Salvadoran immigrants Gloria and Ana. The novel jumps around a lot in time, place and perspective and for me that was its biggest weakness. There was plenty of meaty material - addiction, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, Cuban history, issues around migration, family secrets, complicated mother-daughter relationships, class and so much more - but it just didn’t come together as a complete, cohesive whole. There was some strong writing, and I mostly enjoyed what I was reading as I read it. It just failed to fully gel for me. Possibly had it been longer there would have been space for more back story and more to happen on page which might have helped. I didn’t not enjoy this - I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped and expected. But the writing was such that I’ll be on the look out for whatever Gabriela Garcia writes next.

Content Warnings

nibs's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

I think I found out about this book from Rosianna Halse Rojas recommending it somewhere. I've had it on my tbr for a while, and finally got around to it.

This book was so good. Its separate but intertwined characters reminded me of Girl, Woman, Other and There, There. All of these connected stories and connected characters, going through their lives a bit at a time. The generational storytelling is a form of solidarity. I want to read this again immediately.

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thatbookbinch's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

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stephr's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

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epellicci's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-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? Yes

4.0

Of Women and Salt is haunting beautiful and deeply complex. Following the multi-generational stories of nine Cuban and El Salvadorian women, the book explores themes of trauma and belonging in a way which is both powerful and enthralling. I couldn't put it down.

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hbc72's review against another edition

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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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my_plant_library's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

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