Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

15 reviews

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.

---

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

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Trafficking, and Terminal illness

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

---

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

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

---

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

dramaqueentears's review

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. 

---

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