Salt Dancers

Our Tuesday book group discussed this, and my initial complaints sort of changed.

A woman who finds herself pregnant at 40 decides she much face her childhood demons, and returns to her family city to confront her father. Her fantasies about her childhood and her hoped-for reconciliation are a big part of the story. But her father lives between denial and dementia, her brother is bitter about being left behind to care for him, and neither gives her the reaction she craves. Then she finds out her mother, who had abandoned the family, is not only still alive, but lives within driving distance, and they arrange to meet. Will she find satisfaction here?

I was at first dismayed by the book's ending, but after listening to others in the group, show more realized that the author had done exactly what she set out to do, creating a character who must find her own way.

Very well written show less

I have always enjoyed Ursula Hegi. During shelter in place, I have been reading books that I have had for years but not gotten around to. Salt Dancers was one of those. It was a short book(240 pages) but lots of narration so it seemed longer. Julie is 41 years old, an architect, lives in Vermont, and is 4 months pregnant. She is not married but is connected loosely with the father to be. She decides to go back to Spokane to see her father who she hasn't seen in 23 years and her 40 year old brother who lives with him. Julia's mother left the family when she was 9 and she has basically disappeared. Julia's father abused her after her mother left them. This is the reason for her absence. The book shows her dealing with all these issues. We show more are totally in her head throughout the book and that is always difficult to have one point of view. I did enjoy the writing and appreciated how difficult things have been for Julia. However, it was almost too much to take in as a reader. There were plot elements that didn't add up for me. If you have read Hegi then you might enjoy this book.. It is not a happy subject but one that happens throughout our culture and I did like getting an insight into the mind of someone who had such a tough upbringing. If you have not read Hegi, then I suggest reading Stones from the River as an introduction to her. show less

It is difficult to say one "enjoyed" a book like this that is dealing with the harsh realities of abuse and addiction and abandonment and...I will say that Hegi created a world around (or within) her main character that was captivating, somehow. Felt like some of the other characters could have been deepened, though the "unresolved" nature of the plot (that seemed to annoy many reviewers here) did not bother me. Kinda seems like life.

This book was for me a very powerful study of parent-child relationships and the failures which can occur. The fact that the narrator's parents are shown to be clearly both "good" and "bad" made it a realistic analysis. The way we deal with the problems in our relationships was also well covered.

Here's a quote which shows one aspect of what I like about this book:
"What I wanted was the happiness I'd known as a child before I'd found out that even if things were the best they could be, you were always right on the brink of that bone-chilling isolation because people who were the closest to you- like your mother or father or brother or lover - could turn on you, turn from you."
I didn't find the language (swearing) a problem....I suppose show more that reflects on me! show less

I thought the writing in this book was wonderful. I liked the story line, it is worth reading. I was a little disappointed in the ending. I thought it was would have a surprise ending. If you liked Stones from the River, you would probably enjoy this one.

2887 Salt Dancers, by Ursula Hegi (read 11 Jul 1996) This is a 1995 novel and although I so liked her Stones From the River, I was really disappointed in this book. It seemed so pointless. The book abounds in gratuitous grating 4-letter obscenities--so repulsive when the writing is otherwise so elegant, even if it seems to have nothing overly-meaningful to say. I do not propose to read anything more by Hegi.

After having read Stones From the River, which I loved, this book was really a disappointment. I did not like it at all. The characters did not interest me nor did their story.