Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

66 reviews

charlottejones952's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.75

This was such a tough book to read but beautifully crafted. The writing propelled me through so quickly and I was astounded by how vivid each of the characters' lives were. 

I would recommend looking into trigger warnings as this is an extremely dark book at times but with that caveat in mind, I would highly recommend it. Gabriela Garcia is an author to keep an eye on in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, War, and Colonisation

bibeanenergy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

gut wrenching and beautiful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

lacunaboo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, and Sexual assault

nibs's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Trafficking, and Terminal illness

lormurenzi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault

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

ladymirtazapine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, War, Rape, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, and Alcoholism

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

This was actually really good.
The complexity of the characters was intense, each had a quite realistic side of themselves that they weren’t sharing with the others but not in a frustrating way.
The writing was poetic but not unclear.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and War

iamivypark's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked this book!! The first two chapters bore similarities to Infinite Country by Patricia Engel with distressing scenes of deportation and family separation. However this story becomes more of a multi-generational family saga as the novel wears on. 

Following 9 women from Cuba and El Salvador, Garcia’s writing depicts survival in the wake of abusive forces. All suffering from violence in one way or another and having troubled relationships with their mothers or daughters as a result of their survival mechanisms. 

I loved the way the women were all intertwined in some way. One storyline follows Gloria and her daughter Ana who are El Salvadorian immigrants illegally in the U.S. Another following Carmen who migrated to America legally, escaping Communist rule, and her daughter Jeanette in modern day Miami. The novel uncovers 5 generations of Jeanette & Carmen’s family and it was powerful to see where the women came from and the intergenerational trauma carried down the lineage. I found the family tree at the beginning of the book super helpful in following this. I love when books have these!

The prose is stunning! I was taken aback by the very beginning of the book which starts ominously with a mother pleading that her daughter still wants to live on the first 2 pages. 

“I want to know who I am, so I need to know who you’ve been”

The survival strategies of silence and estrangement were particularly stark in the relationship between Carmen and Jeanette. I was struck by the chapter portraying Jeanette’s coming of age in Miami; her naivety & desire to fit in, her innocence and the way she is haunted by stories untold. Garcia’s writing is compelling and raw. 

The book draws many parallels, between the Cuban capitalist elite allowed to enter legally while El Salvadoran’s are not granted the same privilege. As well as the trajectories of Jeanette’s life and those of her cousin & Ana in regards to safety and opportunity. 

Best read if you are in the mood for a family saga and have time to finish in just a few sittings. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, and Incest

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