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sasha99's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Addictive read - had to stop my other book to read it because it was on my mind too much (mostly the structure of the book was on my mind w the short chapters lol). Absolutely not clever enough to understand big chunks of it and properly appreciate the writing, but I adore Jessica Andrews and her style - her short chapters make reading her books a breeze and are my favourite kind of structure because the time just flies and (commitment phobe I am) I find I don’t have the pressure of deciding whether to read another chapter because do I have enough time energy etc, I just don’t stop reading. Love the storyline, tiny bit confusing to follow in some places (hard to know whether she was talking about the past or present at the start) but honestly so minor and such a good book in my favourite structure. Got even better the more I progressed through it - love how there’s the oast and present running alongside each other throughout (like in Milk Teeth which I did prefer but only because it’s set abroad). Jessica Andrews giving us the best most addictive books yet again - would honestly read anything even a shopping list written by Andrews, she’s amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
siebensommer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I am so drawn to difficult things. I am always travelling far away from the people I love. I am constantly searching for something that I cannot articulate, uprooting and disappearing based on an abstract feeling in the pit of my belly.
What if it was not the right thing to leave London? What if
this is not the right way to live? Perhaps it is better to want
tangible things, like bodies and objects. Everything I want is
invisible. Do invisible things have worth?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Sexual content
isaarusilor's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Self harm and Rape
Minor: Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
bxcvi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Drug use
Minor: Rape and Blood
lolasherwin's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Rape and Eating disorder
serendipitysbooks's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Saltwater also features a protagonist trying to find herself, although Lucy is much younger, with the story centred on her transition from a school girl in working class Sunderland to university student in London, a transition which isn’t as straightforward or positive as she’d expected. Some of the key themes are the mother-daughter relationship, the legacy of alcoholism, disability and the impact it can have on the family as well as the individual, and class and regionality. What really stands out in this book is it’s form. It unfolds in a series of episodic vignettes which move back and forward in time with no real narrative arc. The vignettes are perfectly captured moments, demonstrating the author’s talent for showing, not telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Sexual assault
writtenontheflyleaves's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Saltwater by Jessica Andrews 🌆
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌆 The plot: To Lucy, London always seemed like the promised land. After growing up in Sunderland and the shadow of her father’s alcoholism, the city seems suffused with glamour and promise: conversations to be had, gigs to attend, people to meet. But after studying in the city for three years, Lucy finds herself exhausted. After graduating, she flees to her late grandfather’s cottage in a remote part of Donegal, where she reflects on growing up and growing out of your old dreams.
I wasn’t sure if this book was for me at first. It’s that particular kind of literary fiction that seems to skim along the surface of events, collecting only scattered poignant details, rather than digging down into actual scenes. It reminded me of a cross between Bluets by Maggie Nelson and The Outrun by Amy Liptrot, told in short vignettes and flicking between harsh urban scenes and wild nature. It’s beautiful, but I wasn’t sure it would give me the immediacy I wanted.
Safe to say it won me over though. While Andrews moves through scenes very fluidly, her descriptions are visceral and sensory. They place you bodily into the environments Lucy and her family move through and you come away with dirt under your fingernails - the smokiness of her granddad’s garden after a bonfire, the grit of a school playground in a skinned knee. I especially loved her descriptions of Lucy’s teenage years, the vulnerability and exhilaration of navigating a new body and the attention that comes with it, whether invited, uninvited, or somewhere in between.
🌆 Read it if you love memoirs (this is autobiographical fiction, but it reads like a memoir), and particularly Bluets or The Outrun. Also if you love university novels and mother-daughter narratives, as those are big themes.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate very “lyrical” literary fiction and prefer your prose to feel more grounded. Also if you’re sensitive to depictions of alcoholism, sexual assault, and ableism (specifically against d/Deaf people, as the protagonist’s brother is deaf).
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
🌆 The plot: To Lucy, London always seemed like the promised land. After growing up in Sunderland and the shadow of her father’s alcoholism, the city seems suffused with glamour and promise: conversations to be had, gigs to attend, people to meet. But after studying in the city for three years, Lucy finds herself exhausted. After graduating, she flees to her late grandfather’s cottage in a remote part of Donegal, where she reflects on growing up and growing out of your old dreams.
I wasn’t sure if this book was for me at first. It’s that particular kind of literary fiction that seems to skim along the surface of events, collecting only scattered poignant details, rather than digging down into actual scenes. It reminded me of a cross between Bluets by Maggie Nelson and The Outrun by Amy Liptrot, told in short vignettes and flicking between harsh urban scenes and wild nature. It’s beautiful, but I wasn’t sure it would give me the immediacy I wanted.
Safe to say it won me over though. While Andrews moves through scenes very fluidly, her descriptions are visceral and sensory. They place you bodily into the environments Lucy and her family move through and you come away with dirt under your fingernails - the smokiness of her granddad’s garden after a bonfire, the grit of a school playground in a skinned knee. I especially loved her descriptions of Lucy’s teenage years, the vulnerability and exhilaration of navigating a new body and the attention that comes with it, whether invited, uninvited, or somewhere in between.
🌆 Read it if you love memoirs (this is autobiographical fiction, but it reads like a memoir), and particularly Bluets or The Outrun. Also if you love university novels and mother-daughter narratives, as those are big themes.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate very “lyrical” literary fiction and prefer your prose to feel more grounded. Also if you’re sensitive to depictions of alcoholism, sexual assault, and ableism (specifically against d/Deaf people, as the protagonist’s brother is deaf).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness and Rape
stjernetjern's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
emilyburton30's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was recommended to me by one of my lovely besties. This book is beautifully written. The prose is stunning and several things she says in the book resonate with me as a person.However, whilst reading this book I got into a reading slump - whether that was due to the book or myself I’m unsure. There were parts of the book that really did hook me though others did fall a bit flat. To its credit, I do think the book got better as it went on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual assault and Eating disorder
c__s_dy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual harassment