Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Femei și sare

I think if I reread this book in the future it could be 5 stars. It was beautifully written and tackled important topics very well, but I wish we had spent more time with most of the characters. It was short, slow paced, and from multiple perspectives, which all together sometimes made for a hard read. But the thread that tied all the characters together was very compelling and made me want more. I'm glad I read it but gosh I wanted it to be longer and I think it would be more poignant as a reread.

Content Warnings

cora_hreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

4.75

From the start, I fell in love with Of Women and Salt. I loved the different timelines and how each character had a theme that eventually carried through to Ana's chapter at the end. I felt engulfed by the prose and descriptions that Garcia provided. Needless to say, Of Women and Salt is a book I'd recommend to the masses.

When I picked up this book and read the blurb on the back, I thought it'd be a deep slice-of-life story collection, doting on Latinx experiences in and outside of the US. Initially, my expectations were just to be informed of what I didn't know or understand about Latinx people, families, etc. I got so much more than that. What I got from Of Women and Salt was a deep, cutthroat dive into how Cuban and Salvadoran women tried to get to the best they could every day.

A worker

losing her husband

in mid/late 1800s Cuba, and starting the family line of women who'd work until their bones were brittle to achieve what they needed to survive.
A housewife during the 1950s Cuban revolution, going through any means necessary

(including murder)

to get her children out of the war-ridden home.
A distressed mother and her drug-addicted/drug-recovering daughter, trying to salvage their relationship that was torn in the early 2000s.

All of these stories, these excerpts of lives, struck me in a way that truly made me feel. I was happy when Marìa was able to get out of the factory and start anew; discomfort was written across my face when Jeanette recounted her teenage sex-driven years and the highs and lows of her drug addictions, as well as her toxic relationship. I felt these different ways because of how Garcia varied her prose for each woman. Jeanette was heartfelt but inconsistent, like a constant train of desparate thought was running in her mind. Carmen seemed to be polished on the outisde, but little details crept out of her as you learned more about her. Ana was flat -- she had to steel herself up just to survive. I commend the prose to an incomprehensible extent.

The descriptions of the setting(s) were similar. As the characters moved about, you felt not only the prescence of the land, but also how it felt to each character. I could imagine the dingy, musty smell of the small Cuban town when Maydelis' car broke down -- I imagined bright, false-dream neon lights shining on a young Jeanette after ditching her hook-up. This book was so incredibly vivid; ultimately, it added to the overall appeal in an incredible way.

My only critique is the bluntness of Jeanette's ending -- which I think was intentional. The reader is alluded to it in her final chapter, but it's open ended at the actual last chapter.

We know what led to Jeanette's death, but why? What caused the relapse?

. I like that it leads me off to question what could've/might've been, like there's no firm ending as to why things happen -- just like in real life.

Overall, Of Women and Salt gets a 4.75/5 stars for its incredible characters, vivid descriptions, and attention to detail for the readers to consider even after reading.

Content Warnings

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

rebeccamm's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

There's a lot of narratives winding through this book, and I think it could have been better with fewer characters but more development of them. And wow, if I wasn't a misandrist already, this book would have made me one. Literally only one of the men has any redeeming qualities. The rest are actively evil, abusive narcissists. All the male characters are entirely one-dimensional, but the women don't fare too much better.
I'm not sure if I liked this book or if I'm giving it a higher rating just because it tells a story we don't hear about enough.

Content Warnings

lacunaboo's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

More...