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A review by vynexareads
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
April 2023 pick for the Pocket Pages Bookclub ran by allisonpaiges
The only love she knows what to do with is the kind of love that breaks a person over and over again.
As a 1st generation Cuban American, I am always on the hunt for authors who are also Cuban American. There is always a need in me to consume media by people who have had the same or close to the same experiences in life just to remind myself I am not alone (or to process experiences I haven't but can completely comprehend).
Garcia did not disappoint and provided me with what I was hoping for in a beautiful and painful way.
Following these different women in different times of their lives, all connected in one way or another, made the reading experience that much deeper. From mother and daughter and neighbors back to a mother's mother and back again, I felt connected to each of them or knew someone in my life who I knew could relate to them.
A point this novel made was that no immigrant experience in a monolith. From your sex, age, race and the way you immigrate to the U.S. will all cause for different stories.
Specifically how Cubans who immigrate to the States see themselves as 'not like other Latinos', especially before 2017 when Wet Feet, Dry Feet was still in place. Garcia touched on this in a better way than I could ever articulate. Also, with discussing the racism that still happens in Cuba and from Cuban immigrants. She wrote things that I have thought for so long in my life, another reason I give this novel its praises.
Though I picked up this book before and put it down, then picked it up for this bookclub, I still believe I read it at the perfect time in my life. The audiobook was done beautifully and there is also an interview with the author done by Roxanne Gay (I am such a sucker for author interviews at the end of audiobooks). Finding out the author is a poet just made so much sense to me, it's very apparent.
All in all, I love this book in ways many may not, or ever, understand. But even then, I can see many people "enjoying" their time with this story, if that's even the correct word to use.
And yes, I did cry in the last chapter, thank you for asking.
We are more than we think we are. There was always more.
The only love she knows what to do with is the kind of love that breaks a person over and over again.
As a 1st generation Cuban American, I am always on the hunt for authors who are also Cuban American. There is always a need in me to consume media by people who have had the same or close to the same experiences in life just to remind myself I am not alone (or to process experiences I haven't but can completely comprehend).
Garcia did not disappoint and provided me with what I was hoping for in a beautiful and painful way.
Following these different women in different times of their lives, all connected in one way or another, made the reading experience that much deeper. From mother and daughter and neighbors back to a mother's mother and back again, I felt connected to each of them or knew someone in my life who I knew could relate to them.
A point this novel made was that no immigrant experience in a monolith. From your sex, age, race and the way you immigrate to the U.S. will all cause for different stories.
Specifically how Cubans who immigrate to the States see themselves as 'not like other Latinos', especially before 2017 when Wet Feet, Dry Feet was still in place. Garcia touched on this in a better way than I could ever articulate. Also, with discussing the racism that still happens in Cuba and from Cuban immigrants. She wrote things that I have thought for so long in my life, another reason I give this novel its praises.
Though I picked up this book before and put it down, then picked it up for this bookclub, I still believe I read it at the perfect time in my life. The audiobook was done beautifully and there is also an interview with the author done by Roxanne Gay (I am such a sucker for author interviews at the end of audiobooks). Finding out the author is a poet just made so much sense to me, it's very apparent.
All in all, I love this book in ways many may not, or ever, understand. But even then, I can see many people "enjoying" their time with this story, if that's even the correct word to use.
And yes, I did cry in the last chapter, thank you for asking.
We are more than we think we are. There was always more.