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A review by iamivypark
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really liked this book!! The first two chapters bore similarities to Infinite Country by Patricia Engel with distressing scenes of deportation and family separation. However this story becomes more of a multi-generational family saga as the novel wears on.
Following 9 women from Cuba and El Salvador, Garcia’s writing depicts survival in the wake of abusive forces. All suffering from violence in one way or another and having troubled relationships with their mothers or daughters as a result of their survival mechanisms.
I loved the way the women were all intertwined in some way. One storyline follows Gloria and her daughter Ana who are El Salvadorian immigrants illegally in the U.S. Another following Carmen who migrated to America legally, escaping Communist rule, and her daughter Jeanette in modern day Miami. The novel uncovers 5 generations of Jeanette & Carmen’s family and it was powerful to see where the women came from and the intergenerational trauma carried down the lineage. I found the family tree at the beginning of the book super helpful in following this. I love when books have these!
The prose is stunning! I was taken aback by the very beginning of the book which starts ominously with a mother pleading that her daughter still wants to live on the first 2 pages.
“I want to know who I am, so I need to know who you’ve been”
The survival strategies of silence and estrangement were particularly stark in the relationship between Carmen and Jeanette. I was struck by the chapter portraying Jeanette’s coming of age in Miami; her naivety & desire to fit in, her innocence and the way she is haunted by stories untold. Garcia’s writing is compelling and raw.
The book draws many parallels, between the Cuban capitalist elite allowed to enter legally while El Salvadoran’s are not granted the same privilege. As well as the trajectories of Jeanette’s life and those of her cousin & Ana in regards to safety and opportunity.
Best read if you are in the mood for a family saga and have time to finish in just a few sittings.
Following 9 women from Cuba and El Salvador, Garcia’s writing depicts survival in the wake of abusive forces. All suffering from violence in one way or another and having troubled relationships with their mothers or daughters as a result of their survival mechanisms.
I loved the way the women were all intertwined in some way. One storyline follows Gloria and her daughter Ana who are El Salvadorian immigrants illegally in the U.S. Another following Carmen who migrated to America legally, escaping Communist rule, and her daughter Jeanette in modern day Miami. The novel uncovers 5 generations of Jeanette & Carmen’s family and it was powerful to see where the women came from and the intergenerational trauma carried down the lineage. I found the family tree at the beginning of the book super helpful in following this. I love when books have these!
The prose is stunning! I was taken aback by the very beginning of the book which starts ominously with a mother pleading that her daughter still wants to live on the first 2 pages.
“I want to know who I am, so I need to know who you’ve been”
The survival strategies of silence and estrangement were particularly stark in the relationship between Carmen and Jeanette. I was struck by the chapter portraying Jeanette’s coming of age in Miami; her naivety & desire to fit in, her innocence and the way she is haunted by stories untold. Garcia’s writing is compelling and raw.
The book draws many parallels, between the Cuban capitalist elite allowed to enter legally while El Salvadoran’s are not granted the same privilege. As well as the trajectories of Jeanette’s life and those of her cousin & Ana in regards to safety and opportunity.
Best read if you are in the mood for a family saga and have time to finish in just a few sittings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, and Incest