Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

8 reviews

salsa_valentina's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Quotes that stood out to me:  "…the place you called home had never considered you hers, had always held you at arm’s length…” (page 88).  “I feel like all you care about is how people see you. How they see me. I feel like I’m constantly pretending, constantly afraid to say the wrong thing” (page 102). 

Well written with concepts us immigrants are all too familiar with. The authors characters are flawed but I can see so much of myself and my family in the characters that it makes you reflect on your own life. Her way of writing kept me hooked on the book. THE GENERATIONAL TRAUMA IS REAL. She has such an enlightening way to write and illustrate the trauma that gets passed down to each generation along side the effects it had on her characters. Pretty short as well. I finished the book in two days, but honestly you could probably finish in one. But I will say there are some very  triggering topics mentioned including: rape, sexual assault, physical abuse, assault, domestic violence, substance abuse, all the generational trauma...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, Deportation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Warning: Immigration related beginning includes sudden deportation

theonlybaillie's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Chronic illness, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

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

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

caughtinmyvines's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

To me, this book felt like a collection of deep, descriptive, beautiful short stories. There was a large cast of characters tied together through familial connections, though those connections became taut and stressed as they crossed continents and generations. Each chapter tended to focus on a different character and explored their perspective. There were some stunning lines in this book, immensely creative and satisfying scenes. There was a deep darkness to it as well; it does not resolve your conflicts or aim to make you comfortable. It won't coddle you.

There is a lot to appreciate in this book. The depictions of women are diverse, each character with their distinct personality and troubles, all of them portrayed with depth and care. 

This book did not hit five stars for me because the plot was sprawling. If you asked me to outline the events, I could only name two that actually bring cohesion to the book, and the last one is in the final chapter. The ending felt slightly rushed or forced. I was often fighting confusion as I read through this, despite the clear artistry in the writing. Sometimes a little structure is needed to help bring that artistry to its full potential. 

If I had read almost any of these chapters as stand alone stories, they likely would've earned five stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Racism

pollyflorence's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse

mezzano's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

4.0

When I learned that Of Women and Salt was told through multiple generations and perspectives, I knew I had to read this book. This story is beautiful and intricately woven. Don't let this book's small size fool you: This book is long and requires your attention to appreciate how each character is connected. 

Of Women and Salt focuses on several Latina women and how their lived experiences have been shaped by personal and political difficulties. At its highest moments, Garcia's work is engrossing and heart-wrenching. Although the pacing of the book itself is slow, I would also consider it a page turner. It was the characters and their challenges that keeps readers turning the pages. Because many of the chapters feel like short stories, when the ending arrives and connects all the histories together, it feels very much deserved. 

At times, the narrative can be tangled and confusing. I believe this is intentional and also enhances the story. The women who are portrayed in this narrative are not simple and cannot live simple lives. Their past, present, and future will be untangled and touched by others, because they are simply the only ones capable of understanding the challenges each other has faced. Be warned while reading that this book has a slew of content warnings, such as pedophilia, sexual assault, death, addiction, deportation, and confinement. This book will likely be incredibly triggering for certain viewers, so please take care to look at the content warnings before reading this book. 

Overall, it was the beautiful writing of Gabriella Garcia that really makes Of Women and Salt memorable. With it's release date right around the corner (April 6th), I'm thrilled to have had the chance to review this from NetGalley. Please make sure to preorder the book from your local bookstore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Death, Alcoholism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Trafficking

shayna's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Trafficking, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent