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A review by ielerol
The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
3.0
Generally, I've liked what I've read by Nalo Hopkinson. I didn't entirely dislike this one, but I for sure didn't enjoy it as much as many of her others.
Part of the problem is that I did really dislike Jeanne Duval and also every single other character she interacts with. They're all irritating and boring, but her every interaction with Charles Baudelaire is just the worst. Like, previously I had no opinions one way or another on Baudelaire as a poet or a human being, but now I don't think I'll be able to hear about him without thinking about how much I hated reading his parts in this book. I did like Mer quite a bit, and I felt invested in the Saint-Domingue story generally, but every time I got into caring about those characters, we switched back to Jeanne, and I felt as trapped and helpless as Ezili.
I liked Thais too, or might have if she'd gotten more time in the book. Structurally I didn't really understand why she was introduced so late, or what she added to the larger theme. Then there's Ezili, who theoretically is the figure tying all the other pieces together. When she was introduced I thought I saw where the book was going with her, but I mostly found her sections confusing interruptions, and her resolution felt tacked on and didn't answer any of the questions I thought it might have. Somewhere in here was a good story I wanted to like about the connected struggles of African diaspora women across history, but I just didn't connect with it.
Part of the problem is that I did really dislike Jeanne Duval and also every single other character she interacts with. They're all irritating and boring, but her every interaction with Charles Baudelaire is just the worst. Like, previously I had no opinions one way or another on Baudelaire as a poet or a human being, but now I don't think I'll be able to hear about him without thinking about how much I hated reading his parts in this book. I did like Mer quite a bit, and I felt invested in the Saint-Domingue story generally, but every time I got into caring about those characters, we switched back to Jeanne, and I felt as trapped and helpless as Ezili.
I liked Thais too, or might have if she'd gotten more time in the book. Structurally I didn't really understand why she was introduced so late, or what she added to the larger theme. Then there's Ezili, who theoretically is the figure tying all the other pieces together. When she was introduced I thought I saw where the book was going with her, but I mostly found her sections confusing interruptions, and her resolution felt tacked on and didn't answer any of the questions I thought it might have. Somewhere in here was a good story I wanted to like about the connected struggles of African diaspora women across history, but I just didn't connect with it.