Gabriela Garcia

Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt is set during the Obama administration, but it's very much a book of our time. The novel explores the complicated relationships among different generations of women in Cuba and Miami, with the earliest generations living in Cuba during the revolution and the more recent generations in not-quite-present-day Florida. It also explores the relationship between a separate mother-daughter pair, Salvadorans who are living in the U.S. without documentation. Many show more of these relationships are strained, and we, the readers, gradually find out why, while the characters themselves remain unaware of much of the story that readers are able to put together.

Of Women and Salt is neither a tidy book nor a happy one, but it is a very human one. Garcia's characters are clearly presented in their imperfections, with no magic bullets or deus ex machina moments to resolve the challenges they face. One could almost say that in a way each of these women is a failure—but they aren't. They are doing the best they can given their life circumstances. And Garcia tells her story in a way that lets us find something of value in each of these imperfect women.

There are any number of reasons to read this book: Garcia packs it full of moments that resonate. And the lack of a tidy ending gives readers one more more reason to care about the lives of each of these women.

I received an electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own. show less

Of Women and Salt was the perfect read around International Women's Day. Following five generations of Cuban women and a Salvadorean mother and daughter, this book takes us on a journey across space and time to witness the strength and tenacity of women who choose to keep fighting against all odds.

These women are the only protagonists here, their voices (often silenced in their daily life) rising prominently to shine a light on their truths, their struggles, their pain, and their hopes for a show more better future. The men in their lives lurk in the background, their viewpoint unimportant and their main contribution being bringing pain and tears - or being conspicuously absent. The women finally take centre stage and reclaim what is theirs, even if only for short stretches. The book's nonlinear narration, in fact, means that it often reads more like a series of short stories or vignettes linked by a common thread.

Don't let this book's size fool you: despite being quite short, it is packed with content and material for reflections. It also takes some dark turns, and I found I often had to stop to give myself time to absorb what I'd just read and digest some of the harder themes. Covering everything from domestic violence to drug abuse, sexual violence and the harsh reality of a modern-day US immigration detention centre, Of Women and Salt is as far as from a light read as possible. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it, in its own way.

The writing was beautiful and lyrical, and it quickly drew me in. The characters were complex and portrayed excellently, even if we only spent a limited time with each of them. The thing I struggled with most was the non-linear narration, but that's something I know I often find hard to follow. Each time/location change was clearly marked at the beginning of the new section, but I still found I often had to go back to remind myself how far in the future or in the past we had moved compared to what had come before.

Overall, this is a powerful book and a really strong debut from the author, and I look forward to reading more of her works in the future. Of Women and Salt takes an honest look at the harsh reality of life for many women, restoring their voices and their dignity, and certainly made me wish for the day when for women everywhere stories like this will be just that - stories.

CW:domestic abuse, sexual violence, imprisonment, child abuse, death, violence, drug abuse and addiction.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less

"We are force."

I absolutely loved this one. At first, I wasn't sure what the story was going to give me. I saw the very simplistic family tree and then started. I'm so glad for that family tree, I used it before every chapter - to give me guidance on who was who. By 5 chapters, I was completely drawn in and I didn't even know it. This lineage of women and their struggles just sucked me in. I loved them even when I didn't like them. I grew to love the older generations, even when they show more completely misunderstood the younger ones or made the same mistakes as the previous ones. This was a moving, quiet story about home, family, and the fight to survive. Beautiful. show less

Beginning with Maria Isabel working in a factory in Cuba in 1866, this is the story of several generations of women as they live through war, evolve, and immigrate to Miami, FL. Lots of different themes here: family, troubled relationships, violence, drug use & addiction, immigration & deportation, as well as the various roles and strength of women. The story alternates characters and timelines, not necessarily in chronological order. I really did enjoy the way the threads of each woman's show more life interconnected with those of previous and subsequent relatives, though the order in which they were presented was at times confusing and disorienting, though I understand the why. This was a short novel, and I finished it with somewhat of a feeling of incompleteness, wanting more. show less