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A review by shanaqui
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt is ultimately a selkie story, but it doesn't feel like one -- this isn't a fantasy story, is what I'm trying to say, but feels much more literary fiction/historical fiction. Which is not a bad thing, per se, but it was on fantasy lists and I think the vibe is quite different to that. The story is mostly grounded in physical, historical detail: milking goats, making cheese, delivering babies... and it's not that fantasy never does that, but this book is so coy about the selkie reveal that you only know it's going there for sure because the cover copy says so.
The main character, Jean, is a big part of that, because she's very much grounded in the everyday, physical tasks of her life, and quick to interpret everything in light of that everyday life. Muirin's not a selkie, she's just a Scot who doesn't speak English; Kiel's webbed hands are just a minor birth defect; their seal-like barks are just an odd laughter...
You get the drill.
There's a significant creepiness and tension to the book that I hadn't quite expected, as Muirin's husband becomes colder, angrier, and more determined to keep her locked inside her home, and keep Jean off his land. His suspicions turn into violent anger and creepy behaviour, in a way that feels realistic at each step -- and then you take a step back and look at how unhinged he was, see all the warning signs, and know that all along he was awful, really.
It's well done, and I enjoyed it; I didn't find it "unputdownable", but I did want to know how things worked out exactly. I liked some of the supporting characters, like Anneke, Laurie, and the brief glimpses we get of Dal and Jo.
The main character, Jean, is a big part of that, because she's very much grounded in the everyday, physical tasks of her life, and quick to interpret everything in light of that everyday life. Muirin's not a selkie, she's just a Scot who doesn't speak English; Kiel's webbed hands are just a minor birth defect; their seal-like barks are just an odd laughter...
You get the drill.
There's a significant creepiness and tension to the book that I hadn't quite expected, as Muirin's husband becomes colder, angrier, and more determined to keep her locked inside her home, and keep Jean off his land. His suspicions turn into violent anger and creepy behaviour, in a way that feels realistic at each step -- and then you take a step back and look at how unhinged he was, see all the warning signs, and know that all along he was awful, really.
It's well done, and I enjoyed it; I didn't find it "unputdownable", but I did want to know how things worked out exactly. I liked some of the supporting characters, like Anneke, Laurie, and the brief glimpses we get of Dal and Jo.