Today I’m sharing my review of Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia.
Synopsis
In present-day Miami, Jeanette is battling addiction. Daughter of Carmen, a Cuban immigrant, she is determined to learn more about her family history from her reticent mother and makes the snap decision to take in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE. Carmen, still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, must process her difficult relationship with her own mother while trying to raise a wayward Jeanette. Steadfast in her quest for understanding, Jeanette travels to Cuba to see her grandmother and reckon with secrets from the past destined to erupt.
From 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia’s Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayals–personal and political, self-inflicted and those done by others–that have shaped the lives of these extraordinary women. A haunting meditation on the choices of mothers, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots.
Why I Decided to Read this Book
I will be honest, the gorgeous cover drew me to this book. Also this was my book club pick last month for Latinx Heritage Month.
Rating
3.5 Stars (Check out my rating system!)
My Thoughts
I will start by saying that I listen to this one in audio and this may be one of the first few times that I say I don’t recommend that format for a book. It was very hard to follow so I recommend reading the physical book. I think I would have had a different reading experience if I had read the physical book. One thing I liked about the audiobook is an interview with the author at the end done by Roxane Gay. I honestly wished I had listened to the interview before reading the book. In there the author mentions that she started this book as a collection of short stories and that she writes poetry. After that the book makes a little more sense to me.
This was my book club’s pick for the month of September and we had a great discussion. Those that read the physical book liked it more than those of us that listened to the audiobook because they were not as confused. The story jumps back and forth between time periods and covers a lot of characters. The story covers topics such as drug addiction, domestic abuse, sexual assault, violence, separation from family members and immigration. Some of the stories focus on complicated family relationships and the characters are complex.
Overall, this book is very short and I wished it was longer and better structured. However, I enjoyed the characters and the discussion with my book club. I recommend it but just go in with certain expectations.
Content Warnings
Drug addiction, domestic abuse, sexual assault, violence, child abuse, separation from family members, cancer, death, racism
Who I Recommend this Book to
Read this if you like beautiful writing, multiple time periods and don’t listen to the audiobook!
Get the Book!
Did this review of Of Women and Salt convince you to read it? Check out the links below to order it from Bookshop.org and libro.fm. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
>>Shop on Libro.fm (Leaving the link here but trust me, don’t listen to the audiobook)
If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!
