Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

11 reviews

jcapati's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deportation, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Racism

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death, Confinement, War, Xenophobia, Racism, and Mental illness

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

kelly_e's review

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

Title: Of Women and Salt
Author: Gabriela Garcia
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: March 30 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Poetic • Heartbreaking • Powerful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Jeanette is battling the grips of addiction, and is endlessly determined to learn more about her family's history. When on a whim Jeanette takes in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE, her mother, Carmen, is resistant. Carmen continues to wrestle with the trauma of displacement, her complicated relationship with her own mother, and raising a wayward daughter. In a quest to understand, Jeanette travels to Cuba to visit her grandmother and discovers a host of secrets from the past.

Spanning 19th century cigar factories to modern detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayal that have shaped the lives of these women.

💭 T H O U G H T S

In 2021 I decided to make my way through the GMA book club selections. Of Women and Salt was one I knew I wanted to prioritize. Maybe I was drawn to the historical aspect and/or the beautiful cover, but I knew little more than that going in. And I definitely didn't know it was so short.

What immediately struck me was Gabriela Garcia's spellbinding language. This novel is beautifully written, with so much emotion captured in the words. The non-linear structure, seeming more like a collection of short stories, was different but worked perfectly in this narrative even though it took me awhile to figure out who was who (thank goodness for the family trees at the beginning). Featuring three generation of Cuban/Cuban-American women, each fully fleshed out and equally flawed, and exploring themes of motherhood, intergenerational trauma, addiction, abuse, immigration and oppression.

I enjoyed this generational saga, and the historical interconnectedness of the characters is something I gravitate towards in books. I appreciated how the ending came full circle in a satisfying way.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• literary fiction lovers
• readers looking for an immigration story
• fans of generational sagas

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I believe family is whoever we point to. I did not just have you. You did not simply happen to me. I chose. I saw the possibilities and I chose and I would not judge the woman who chooses differently. I decided I would be your mother and family and you would be of me."

"We are more than we think we are. There was always more." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

Minor: Cancer

overdose

amerikanerin's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

qqjj's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Tried to do too much? There were soooo many themes touched on (immigration/asylum/deportation and differences between generations and country origins, political regimes, domestic violence, substance abuse and overdoses, mother-daughter relationships, and more), but didn't/couldn't explore them all thoroughly within this short book. All of these themes are intriguing to me in themselves, but all of them together seemed too much. It was also quite challenging to adjust to the jumping POVs and time/places of each chapter/vignette, the ordering and structure of which seemed haphazard, and never really allowed for the atmosphere of the settings to really shine through. Interested to see future directions of the author, but ultimately just okay for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: War, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Cancer, Addiction, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Grief

lilymouse's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

If I could give this a hundred stars I would. This was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I honestly don't know how I feel other than in absolute awe of the beauty this book held.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Colonisation, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bibeanenergy's review

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

cereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Rape and Pedophilia

evilo_reads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

There were many great parts of the book with many dynamic characters, vivid settings, and detailed prose. Unfortunately, the character we focused on the most, Jeanette, was extremely unlikeable. Her redeeming qualities were almost nonexistent, and while the traumas she endured certainly explained her character they didn’t help her story arc in a fulfilling way. All this to say, I definitely wasn’t prepared for how trauma-heavy this book was and it came as an overwhelmingly depressing surprise that definitely hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Death, Pedophilia, and Racism

Minor: Child abuse

spalmon's review

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship