A review by inlaraland
salt slow by Julia Armfield

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

“Salt Slow” by Julie Armfield is a collection of short stories that explores bodies and the bodily, where the author maps the skin and bones of her characters through their experiences of isolation, obsession, love and revenge.

A couple of my favorites included “Mantis” and “Formerly Feral”. two stories that focus on the shocking changes of a woman’s body. “The Great Awake” which tells a story of how the character’s “sleep” have mutated into their own physical entity. “Granite” is a cautionary love story about living in the moment, and “Smack” depicts a a melancholic woman withering amidst her divorce. Finally, there was “Salt Slow”, a story set in world that has been flooded by water.

I could only read these stories in doses, so I took my time with this book. The pacing is on the slower side, but the writing is beautifully frightening and eerie. There were sentences and paragraphs that struck my core, and I found that each story had it’s own unique narration. I recommend this book if you’re interested in horror (specifically body horror), science fiction and mythical storytelling.
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