Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

11 reviews

reads2cope's review against another edition

5.0

"I think about this often, about whether the past is real if we don't bring it into the present. Tree falling in the forest and all that.  I'm okay, I say.  I don't know if I am the tree or the no one who doesn't hear it."

An incredibly well done multi-generational story of multiple families. I loved the way each thread of plots and characters and themes wove together across time and boarders and families. These stories laid bare the atrocities of the immigration systems in the USA in a way that furthered the plots and without disrupting the pacing. A masterpiece of grief and love and struggle and resilience. Every character is nuanced and makes sometimes terrible and almost always necessary choices, and I couldn’t help but love all of them.

“What a luxurious thing, to feel. The pain a tender ache now that she could massage and curl into. For so long, she’s held the grief at bay.” 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Incest, Drug abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, Grief, Xenophobia, and Addiction

auudrey's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

I think this book reads better in a physical form. I read it as an e-book and wish I hadn’t 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Trafficking, Violence, Murder, Drug use, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, War, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

lidia7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, War, Cancer, Death, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexism, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Slavery, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Incest, Gore, and Forced institutionalization

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.25

One hand I do think Garcia is a talented writer but the novel despite having perspectives for two Salvadorans a girl and a woman multiple times, the Salvadoran characters, the non white Latinos feel like props to the white Cuban women, including the black Cubans who exist largely for the white grandmother and cousin to accuse of theft or be surprised the other has a name. And while it is good to talk about the diversity of Cuba and the racism within it again the black Cuban characters seem to exist only for props or for reader presumed to not be black or non white Cubans. Thus the book feels like a book a white Cuban American or white cuban woman might get something out of but not meant for black cuban diaspora or not but instead for white gringos moreso. Similarly the Salvadoran characters don’t feel like they equally share the story even how prominent their povs are and the author even described in of their brown skins as “burnt” as if that’s not incredibly racist just because it’s burnt sugar. Which makes it unsurprising that that character Gloria perspective unfortunately comes of as patronizing and like the author isn’t aware how smart she is or Gloria doesn’t exist to be Gloria but for the author to share facts about US immigration that read clunky and almost copy and pasted from a nonfiction piece while the cuban family feels much more dynamic and lived in. Like Gloria live is one lived by many people but instead she feels like she exists for white peoples to read and feel bad about maybe even white and/or rich Mexicans but not for Salvadorans and Central Americans to read. This is always why I am unsurprised the blurbs for the book are almost entirely about the white Cuban characters. 

I do really like the topics Garcia wanted to tackle, the relationships between women and cycles of abuse and I completely agree with the author that there is no “one” immigrant story in her short interview with Roxane Gay but I think she really needs to re-examine how she writes non white characters and characters her Mexican and Cuban family don’t fit into since those characters suffered the most. I do really like that she wrote about racism and classism in Mexico and the resentments between different Latino groups even if again that sometimes felt clunky. I especially loved the Cuban families divided less by borders and more by interpersonal issues and with very different and strong political opinions. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, War, Chronic illness, Grief, Death, Deportation, Self harm, Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cancer, Misogyny, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

tctimlin's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

With a timeline that jumps from the 1800’s to the present day, not chronologically, the book follows several women, mostly immigrants to the US from Cuba and El Salvador.  The novel explores the immigrant experience, the plight of those left behind, the difference between the reception of the political asylees from Cuba and the unwanted refugees from Central America.  

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Murder, Infidelity, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Deportation

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Drug abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Death of parent

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Addiction, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity

charlottejones952's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

This was such a tough book to read but beautifully crafted. The writing propelled me through so quickly and I was astounded by how vivid each of the characters' lives were. 

I would recommend looking into trigger warnings as this is an extremely dark book at times but with that caveat in mind, I would highly recommend it. Gabriela Garcia is an author to keep an eye on in the future. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, War, and Colonisation

evilo_reads's review against another edition

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.

---

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

lcg527's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Racism, Infidelity, Incest, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Adult/minor relationship