Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Salt Grows Heavy

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

55 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

If you're looking for a thoroughly macabre reimagining of The Little Mermaid and don't mind (or enjoy!) significant on-page body horror, this is an excellent novella. The story was imaginative and dark and calls back to the much grittier origins of our favorite fairytales. The writing is evocative and flowery (even in describing the rituals of a cannibalistic cult), and the epilogue was actually... sweet? That said, I almost set this aside at 20%, after realizing just how substantial the body horror elements were (I wasn't sure if I could manage another 60 pages). Ultimately, I pushed through because I appreciated the story arc and the thematic goal, and because I do like to read outside my typical genres occasionally. Recommended to horror readers who enjoy dark fairytale retellings!

Content Warnings

ruhlen's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The most beautifully written gory fairy-tale romance story I've ever listened to.

I'm kind of glad it was so short.

I must admit that I chose to listen to this novella based purely on the cover art and the title. The Salt Grows Heavy is an awesome, intriguing title and the cover art is striking and mysterious. Cassandra Khaw is an interesting writer - I'm still not sure if she is for me. I've read Food of the Gods, so I'm not unfamiliar with Khaw's viscerally graphic style. It did make me uncomfortable listening to it in this book, though.

The Salt Grows Heavy is a first-person retelling of the mermaid myth. It also includes a Frankenstein-esque tale of man trying to achieve immortality and what reminded me of Lord of the Flies group of children worshiping the trio of immortal "Saints." If you're looking for a deep, dark fairy tale, this is about as deep and as dark as you can get.

Susan Dalian performs the narration of the audiobook beautifully. I would compare this audiobook to Circe or Piranesi for the overall tone it evokes. The prose is poetic and delicate and gorgeous, in stark contrast to what it is describing. Much like my warning for Food of the Gods, do not read or listen to this story during any type of meal.

Overall, I think I would give this more like a 3.5. Did the story and writing make me uncomfortable? Yes. Was it memorable? Yes. Did it add something new to the fairy tale fantasy space? Yes. Was it my kind of story? Undecided. Since it is so short, if you are curious about Cassandra Khaw as an author and what she brings to the genre, I would definitely give this one a try. And I highly recommend the audiobook.

Content Warnings