Scan barcode
A review by readingspells
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I really don't know much about this book when I selected apart from it was set in Cuba and so thought it would tick that country of my round the world read.
I will admit that about a couple of hours into the audio once we switched away from Cuba to present day Miami I found myself struggling to relate the beginning of the story of where we were now. It is a big jump and I was very involved in the early Cuba story and this was a bit jarring but I am really glad I stuck with it and just trust in the author to fill in the missing pieces
This book is about women and I loved that whilst there are male characters in the book none of them are given a voice. All of it told and centres the women's stories in them. However as it is about women it is also about male violence, impossible or complicated choices, identity, Motherhood and grief.
It is also very much about immigration and who no two immigrants experiences are the same and how even within immigrant communities hierarchies form round immigrants who are viewed as 'lesser' in some way.
The book is a little disjointed in places and I wish we had more of Cecily's story and even her Mother as well as maybe more of Carmen. They felt incomplete but maybe that is the history of women and so is fitting in some way
The ending is both devastating and hopeful and whilst some of the flips from past to present and the various women is a little jarring at times overall I really enjoyed this one.
I will admit that about a couple of hours into the audio once we switched away from Cuba to present day Miami I found myself struggling to relate the beginning of the story of where we were now. It is a big jump and I was very involved in the early Cuba story and this was a bit jarring but I am really glad I stuck with it and just trust in the author to fill in the missing pieces
This book is about women and I loved that whilst there are male characters in the book none of them are given a voice. All of it told and centres the women's stories in them. However as it is about women it is also about male violence, impossible or complicated choices, identity, Motherhood and grief.
It is also very much about immigration and who no two immigrants experiences are the same and how even within immigrant communities hierarchies form round immigrants who are viewed as 'lesser' in some way.
The book is a little disjointed in places and I wish we had more of Cecily's story and even her Mother as well as maybe more of Carmen. They felt incomplete but maybe that is the history of women and so is fitting in some way
The ending is both devastating and hopeful and whilst some of the flips from past to present and the various women is a little jarring at times overall I really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse