Of Women and Salt

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 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 show more 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 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 show more 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 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.

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 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 show more feeling of incompleteness, wanting more. show less

Multigenerational story of mothers and daughters in migrant families, this book reads as a series of interlinked stories. Several stories relate to Jeanette in present-day Miami, recovering from addiction, and her mother, Carmen. Jeanette watches her neighbor, Gloria, taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She takes in the neighbor’s seven-year-old Salvadoran daughter, Ana, who was with her babysitter at the time. Moving back into history, we find one of Jeanette’s ancestors, a female cigar-roller working in Cuba in 1866. Moving forward, Gloria is being held in a detention center in Texas. The stories that follow offer commentary on addictions, abuse, US immigration policies, race, and class. These are stories of strong show more women making hard choices.

The author has taken on a large topic and covered it in a rather short novel. The prose is elegant. Garcia populates her stories with characters that feel authentic. They avoid categorization or stereotyping. One woman has developed a hard outer shell of protection, and has never shared her struggles with her daughter, leaving the daughter to wonder if she has ever truly known her mother. For me, the main drawback is a feeling that one storyline is not adequately established before moving to another. The overall cohesiveness of the disparate stories into a novel is not quite achieved.

I found it an insightful examination of the variety of challenges faced by immigrant women. It portrays the impact of decisions on future generations. It is an impressive debut. show less

I’m torn over this book. I feel like OF WOMEN AND SALT paints a distressing and realistic picture of immigration to the US, particularly what it’s like for women from Latin America entering the country illegally. I would call it a timely novel, though detention centers, family separation, and deportation have been going on for many years.

My issue with this book was its lack of a strong plot. This has been mentioned in other reviews, but it’s more a collection of short stories, some very compelling and others not so much. The novel alternates between several different time periods (not chronologically) and POVs from different generations of women from a Cuban/Cuban American family. It also includes the story of a mother and show more daughter from El Salvador, whom I loved the most.

This was a short novel, and with the choppy nature of the chapters I felt like the story was missing something that would have tied everything together. There were also characters I wish had been fleshed out more, like Maria Isabel who worked in a cigar factory in 1860s Cuba. I wanted to know more about her life.

OF WOMEN AND SALT is a heartbreaking book that explores mother/daughter bonds, loss, survival, and desperate choices. I just wish it had been more cohesive.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

This multi-generational story follows Cuban women, both in America and Cuba, who face abuse, deportation, addiction, political upheaval, and so much more. The book switches POVs and jumps around from the 19th to 21st centuries. It was hard to follow at times, but if you just look at each section as a new story you slowly see the lives of the women weaving together. It feels more like a short story collection. As with most books in that vein, I enjoyed some sections more than others. I loved reading about the woman who worked in a cigar factory, but cringed while reading about the underage girl trying to sneak into clubs. The overall theme is one of broken women and what they must do to survive. The writing is beautiful and I look show more forward to seeing more from the author. show less