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A review by laelyn
The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate
4.0
This is probably one of the most fascinating books I have read all year. I'm having so much trouble with this review because the experience of reading it is so hard to describe - this novella is less of a story, more of a feeling. Not that there isn't a story here, there is. It tells of Dracula's voyage to England on the Demeter from the perspective of the nameless captain. It's short, it's gothic, it's full of fear and death.
But more than that it is a book full of longing. Longing to love and be loved, to want and be wanted, to accept oneself and be accepted by the world for who one is. The captain is gay and has only ever experienced hatred as reaction to homosexuality, which is why he hides it from everyone including his crew. The first half of the novella especially focuses on his sexual desires that he knows would get him killed if people knew. It's such strong, intoxicating and poetic writing that you cannot but feel with him, for him.
The prologue already talks about the connection between vampirism and homosexuality in literature, and the novella plays with this in a very intense way. Vampirism is often used as an allegory for homosexuality, with both vampires and gays being considered monsters by society, both of them ruled by a forbidden, monstrous thirst and desire that bring only sin and death. The captain's journey from this belief instilled by the society he lives in and the experiences he went through to the realization that actually, there is no comparison to be made between the two, he is no monster, there is nothing inherently wrong with being gay is fascinating and hits hard. His choices at the end that tie in directly to what we know of the voyage from Stoker's Dracula is chilling, the imagery both horrific and strangely sensual.
This novella won't be for everyone - it's a strange little thing, very graphic when it tells of the captain's sexual desires, and it has a tendency to lose itself in its own poetic language which makes it hard to follow at times - but it is a unique reading experience. Knowing its history and its importance makes it even more of a joy to be able to read it in English now. And both the prologue and the epilogue are incredibly informative and interesting and deserve to be read as well.
But more than that it is a book full of longing. Longing to love and be loved, to want and be wanted, to accept oneself and be accepted by the world for who one is. The captain is gay and has only ever experienced hatred as reaction to homosexuality, which is why he hides it from everyone including his crew. The first half of the novella especially focuses on his sexual desires that he knows would get him killed if people knew. It's such strong, intoxicating and poetic writing that you cannot but feel with him, for him.
The prologue already talks about the connection between vampirism and homosexuality in literature, and the novella plays with this in a very intense way. Vampirism is often used as an allegory for homosexuality, with both vampires and gays being considered monsters by society, both of them ruled by a forbidden, monstrous thirst and desire that bring only sin and death. The captain's journey from this belief instilled by the society he lives in and the experiences he went through to the realization that actually, there is no comparison to be made between the two, he is no monster, there is nothing inherently wrong with being gay is fascinating and hits hard. His choices at the end that tie in directly to what we know of the voyage from Stoker's Dracula is chilling, the imagery both horrific and strangely sensual.
This novella won't be for everyone - it's a strange little thing, very graphic when it tells of the captain's sexual desires, and it has a tendency to lose itself in its own poetic language which makes it hard to follow at times - but it is a unique reading experience. Knowing its history and its importance makes it even more of a joy to be able to read it in English now. And both the prologue and the epilogue are incredibly informative and interesting and deserve to be read as well.