Review: Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (audio)

Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan Audio

Published: March 30, 2021

Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher / Audio via library

Summary:

A sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter’s fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born

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.

My thoughts:

This book was this past month’s book club selection for Zibby’s Virtual Bookclub and I’m so glad she selected it because it’s a book I had sitting on my shelf for a while. And I can’t believe I didn’t read it when I first got it…I really ended up enjoying it, but I also think part of that had to do with the discussion about the book, so kudos to the bookclub!

This book really packs a punch even though it’s not that long. It’s very character-driven, yet I found myself completely engaged and invested in what was going on with these characters. Yes, it does deal with immigration, but I loved that we hear about that from both sides of the issue. I’m always a sucker for multigenerational stories and I think that is what drew me in to this story. We have one part that tells the story of a family of five generations of women in Cuba and then another part that tells of a mother and daughter who are immigrants from El Salvador.

I loved how the story moved back and forth in time. It almost reads like a collection of short stories, and it’s interesting to note that that was the original intent of this piece. But the way that they end up connecting at the end was just so moving and well-done…I really liked that part.

This book is ultimately about choices and the effects those choices have on others. It’s about resilience and how we respond to what happens to us after the unthinkable might happen. There is definitely a lot to unpack in this tiny book and a lot of food for thought. It’s a vividly stunning piece that I’m so glad I finally read and I definitely will be keep an eye out for what this author writes next.

Audio thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator, Frankie Corzo, did such a great job with all the voices – and there were a lot – and her pacing and intonation was spot on. She really did a great job bringing this story to life and I found myself completely engaged in this story from start to finish.