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bookishnik's review against another edition
3.0
Josie Henderson, a young African American, has become the woman she always dreamed of becoming. She is a marine biologist and lives a quiet life with her husband in a small town in Massachusetts. However, she harbors insecurities originating from her upbringing back in Cleveland. This story explores alcoholism and drug addition and how it impacts the addict and their loved ones. The author misses the mark on integrating the multiple point of views into this novel. I have read many novels with expertly delivered multiple third person narratives, but this one was a first person narrative in which the protagonist also tells the story from the other characters viewpoint. Fail! However, I did really like this story and how all the characters are flawed and there is no happy ending. Such is life.
heat_her's review against another edition
5.0
Josie Henderson is a marine biologist who has always been fascinated with water. She has a good job and she’s married to a good guy; her life seems pretty ideal from the outside. Behind the scenes, though, it’s a different story.
From the back cover:
So not only has Josie had to work harder to prove herself as a Black woman in a field dominated by White men, but she has also felt the need to separate herself from her family and their problems with addiction. She doesn’t want to be misrecognized as one of “those” black women who has the embarrassing drunk father who was kicked out of the house and the brother who’s been in rehab for drugs. Unfortunately, Josie’s denial of just how much her family’s battle with addiction has affected her–and her refusal to admit that she needs help dealing with it–causes Josie a lot of confusion, both emotionally and psychologically. Eventually, Josie is forced to come to terms with who she is, how she has been affected by her past, and what she really wants out of life in the future.
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From the back cover:
…as a senior-level black female scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, she is practically alone in her field. But in building this impressive life for herself, she has tried to shed the one thing she cannot: her family roots back in Cleveland. When Tick, her brother and childhood ally against their alcoholic father, arrives on her doorstep fresh from rehab and teetering on the edge of a relapse, Josie must finally face her family’s past–and her own patterns of addiction.
So not only has Josie had to work harder to prove herself as a Black woman in a field dominated by White men, but she has also felt the need to separate herself from her family and their problems with addiction. She doesn’t want to be misrecognized as one of “those” black women who has the embarrassing drunk father who was kicked out of the house and the brother who’s been in rehab for drugs. Unfortunately, Josie’s denial of just how much her family’s battle with addiction has affected her–and her refusal to admit that she needs help dealing with it–causes Josie a lot of confusion, both emotionally and psychologically. Eventually, Josie is forced to come to terms with who she is, how she has been affected by her past, and what she really wants out of life in the future.
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e_tully4's review against another edition
4.0
This book was sad, though I did like reading about a black woman marine biologist!
maggiecav's review against another edition
3.0
It was good overall, it truly evokes emotions out of you along with sadness. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because it left me feeling angry after multiple chapters.
ashesmann's review against another edition
1.0
It was fine until the woman cheated on her husband. Basically you watch a family go from really bad, to completely devestated.
mandym's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy via the goodreads first reads program.
This is a thought provoking account of a family dealing with alcoholism and drug abuse, normally I might have passed on this but I am so glad I read it. The narratives comes from several different perspectives and this makes it all the more interesting and endearing. This is another one of those books which seem to master the art of enabling the reader have sympathy, even for the most flawed characters.
Along with the alcohol and drugs issues, the author also tackles relationships, how they change, as we start to see things in different light. All in all, whilst it may seem like a sad story, it has a lot of realism. Anyone who has had to deal with these issues, either personally or professionally will probably be able to relate to this story but please don't think it is only for those who understand the issues , this is a book that can appreciated by anyone!
This is a thought provoking account of a family dealing with alcoholism and drug abuse, normally I might have passed on this but I am so glad I read it. The narratives comes from several different perspectives and this makes it all the more interesting and endearing. This is another one of those books which seem to master the art of enabling the reader have sympathy, even for the most flawed characters.
Along with the alcohol and drugs issues, the author also tackles relationships, how they change, as we start to see things in different light. All in all, whilst it may seem like a sad story, it has a lot of realism. Anyone who has had to deal with these issues, either personally or professionally will probably be able to relate to this story but please don't think it is only for those who understand the issues , this is a book that can appreciated by anyone!
miss_tricia's review against another edition
4.0
I sometimes criticize books by saying I couldn't relate to any of the characters. While it's true that I can't find much in common with the motivations and decisions of the characters in The Taste of Salt, they were so well written that their motivations and decisions made perfect sense to me, despite being totally different from my experience. I really enjoyed reading this book.
The device of having a single character narrate the book in part by telling about her own internal life and in part by pretending to be other characters was a bit forced, but it didn't detract much from the overall story.
The device of having a single character narrate the book in part by telling about her own internal life and in part by pretending to be other characters was a bit forced, but it didn't detract much from the overall story.
tsaniuk13's review against another edition
3.0
Liked this but didn't love it and I think I enjoyed it more towards the latter part of the book. It wasn't really what I was expecting and left me with some good feelings, and some bad feelings.
erinmjustice's review against another edition
5.0
My Review (tread lightly, spoilers abound):
I received TToS from Jen, Devourer of Books, as the November Book Club read. I am happy I received it; I don’t think I would have picked this book on my own accord, and I think I would have been missing out. Southgate is a brilliant author, and I would like to read more of her work.
TToS tells the history of a family, told in several voices: Josie, our black female marine biologist; Tick, her recovering alcoholic brother; Ray, her recovering/recovered alcoholic father; and Sarah, her stalwart mother. Even Josie’s husband Daniel and lover Ben get some time with the reader, offering their own insights into Josie’s life. The multitude of narrators was not distracting; each had their own voice, their own perspective, their own struggles to fit into Josie’s family life. I was reminded of Middlesex, but TToS hadn’t been spoiled by hype and word-of-mouth promises of “you’ll love it!”
I thought to give TToS a try, and found myself unable to stop reading. I am an avid reader, but I rarely find something where the characters compel me to keep going. Usually it’s the plot that leaves me turning pages, but I just wanted to see where these characters were going. To be honest, I was surprised by their arcs. I had anticipated a fairly simple, loose-ends-tied-in-happy-bows novel. What I got was a messy nest of emotions and deep treads of addiction. In fact, the one “happy” ending was the only one I didn’t predict. Honestly, I almost prefer it that way. It was a strong, honest novel with unique characters. I haven’t read a book like this in a long time, and it made me remember why I love the feeling of curling up with a paperback, a cup of tea, and plenty of time.
The Bottom Line:
Lightly plotted fiction at its best, Southgate weaves a tapestry of tragic, realistic characters.
I received TToS from Jen, Devourer of Books, as the November Book Club read. I am happy I received it; I don’t think I would have picked this book on my own accord, and I think I would have been missing out. Southgate is a brilliant author, and I would like to read more of her work.
TToS tells the history of a family, told in several voices: Josie, our black female marine biologist; Tick, her recovering alcoholic brother; Ray, her recovering/recovered alcoholic father; and Sarah, her stalwart mother. Even Josie’s husband Daniel and lover Ben get some time with the reader, offering their own insights into Josie’s life. The multitude of narrators was not distracting; each had their own voice, their own perspective, their own struggles to fit into Josie’s family life. I was reminded of Middlesex, but TToS hadn’t been spoiled by hype and word-of-mouth promises of “you’ll love it!”
I thought to give TToS a try, and found myself unable to stop reading. I am an avid reader, but I rarely find something where the characters compel me to keep going. Usually it’s the plot that leaves me turning pages, but I just wanted to see where these characters were going. To be honest, I was surprised by their arcs. I had anticipated a fairly simple, loose-ends-tied-in-happy-bows novel. What I got was a messy nest of emotions and deep treads of addiction. In fact, the one “happy” ending was the only one I didn’t predict. Honestly, I almost prefer it that way. It was a strong, honest novel with unique characters. I haven’t read a book like this in a long time, and it made me remember why I love the feeling of curling up with a paperback, a cup of tea, and plenty of time.
The Bottom Line:
Lightly plotted fiction at its best, Southgate weaves a tapestry of tragic, realistic characters.
sp3cia1j's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know if it's because I've recently read some stellar books, but this dind't overly impress me. The story was good, the writing was good, and I even teared up a little at the end. Definitely a good and quick read, but nothing spectacular.