Gabriela Garcia

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK 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.

A Novel

Of Women and Salt

The New York Times Bestseller 'Extraordinary . . . stunning' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory 'Vivid details, visceral prose and strong willful women' Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana 'Vivid, engrossing, luminous' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti Five generations of women, linked by blood and circumstance, by the secrets they share, and by a single book passed down through a family, with an affirmation scrawled in its margins: We are force. We are more than we think we are. 1866, Cuba: María Isabel is the only woman employed at a cigar factory, where each day the workers find strength in daily readings of Victor Hugo. But these are dangerous political times, and as María begins to see marriage and motherhood as her only options, the sounds of war are approaching. 1959, Cuba: Dolores watches her husband make for the mountains in answer to Fidel Castro’s call to arms. What Dolores knows, though, is that to survive, she must win her own war, and commit an act of violence that threatens to destroy her daughter Carmen’s world. 2016, Miami: Carmen, still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, is shocked when her daughter Jeanette announces her plans to travel to Cuba to see her grandmother Dolores. In the walls of her crumbling home lies a secret, one that will link Jeanette to her past, and to this fearless line of women. From nineteenth-century cigar factories to present-day detention centres, from Cuba to the United States to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia’s Of Women and Salt follows Latina women of fierce pride, bound by the stories passed between them. It is a haunting meditation on the choices of mothers and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their truth despite those who wish to silence them. For fans of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.

Laura Wilson

Veronica Zarate

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. 1866, Cuba: María Isabel is the only woman working at a cigar factory, where each day the workers are read Victor Hugo and encouraged to recognize their value and strength. But these are dangerous political times, and as María begins to see marriage and motherhood as her only options for survival, the sounds of war are approaching. 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 neighbour detained by immigration officers. 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 follows Latina women of fierce pride and longing, all irrevocably linked by the inheritance of trauma, and the stories passed between them. It is a haunting meditation on the choices of mothers and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them.

Intertwining stories of women. Details are very moving and real. Trigger warning for SA, and substance abuse.

Gladys Marcos

Chloe Garcia

I would give the chapters with Ana, her mother, Dolores, and her mother a 4-4.5. The book in general is 3 stars though just cause there is so much of Jeanette and her mother.

Evelina

I think Of Women and Salt is very beautifully written and thought out. The stories about all the women who suffered through various time periods for all sorts of reasons are powerful and I'm glad I decided to read this book. 

I wish the timeline was a little more understandable because at one point I had to do a double take at which year one of the short stories was taking place.

Shona Tiger

María Isabel, Dolores and Carmen are women of three generations of a family originally from Cuba (later migrants to the US), over a period from 1859 to 2016. We get a snapshot of pivotal events in their lives, and gradually build up a their story of migration, identity and loss.

I had on my list for this year books on home and belonging, and had in mind to include this one on the list. Fairly regretful, though, that I read it, as it is relentlessly grim. Topics covered: rape, murder by the state, drug use and addiction, immigration and deportation, the loss of a parent (to cancer 😓), racism… I don’t remember what else. I mostly remember how I felt while reading this book: despairing, and, needless to say, somewhat triggered.

Will not recommend this one. While it’s true that it’s topical, and important, especially because the voices in it are from a group that is marginalized in the US, I found it gratuitously bleak. It may work as didactic literature (“This is what your fellow human is going through”), perhaps, I don’t know; but I did not enjoy it.

Rated: 4/10

Marisel 

I was impressed by the author’s intimate understanding of cuban culture, which I ‘ve so rarely encountered, except in the writing of native cuban authors. Well done! I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially its beautiful depiction of several lineages of strong women characters—although ironically, my greatest source of disappointment was the (oh so predictable!) demonization of the male characters in the stories. This seems to me such an easy way to form badass female counterparts (!) which in the end are only made so against the backdrop of their loser husbands, fathers and boyfriends —really? So unnecessary. Why can’t we just write badass women against the backgrounds of their own challenging lives?! Such a pity. I think books about amazing women could be written, even against the backdrop of their possibly amazing men (there are plenty of those around, too, actually) Imagine that.

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The story was heartbreaking, the writing stellar. The story, however, read more like related snippets than a cohesive novel. And the timeline was very nonlinear. Still, the characters will stick with me.

Elyssa Parker

Really good! I wish it would have dove deeper into every woman's story (in the family)

Fraser Simons

I love short stories that are unified. They bypass the only detriment of collected short story collections where it’s so discordant. This has good narration too, and that, I think, makes it even more feel cohesive since it’s the same voice telling these stories. I imagine the print version might feel differently. 

There is some really vivid images in this that come from well crafted moments with prose that aren’t punched up to be emotionally manipulative, which makes them kind of haunting in a mundane way, which I thought was really respectful of the subject matter and hyper effective. 

As you’d expect, there is some subject matter that is hard to listen to, all of it being from a woman’s perspective and unyielding means that you’re gonna be in it; so be ready for that.

Cindy Lieberman

3.5 rounded up. Short stories and snapshots of several generations of Latina women from Cuba, El Salvador, Miami, México, and Texas, threaded together to make a novel. Very difficult to follow as an audiobook due to the non-linear timeline without dates or narrator headings. The writing is very good, as I’d expect from an MFA and poet, yet the voices were not distinct enough to be helpful on the audiobook. A bit about detention camps and border crossings, but more about the grit needed to make a life and to be a survivor.

I struggled with what to rate this cause I enjoyed it and thought is was well written but it was also all over the place for such a short book.

Samantha Kalany Hughes

Salt derives from women's tears in these tales of intergenerational trauma that binds this family together. Originating with Maria Isabel back in the late 1800s, during a time when the Cuban revolution was just beginning to take hold, a family line is abruptly started, but with a tinge of loss as the patriarch of the duo reaches his demise. 

Of Women and Salt tells the stoic narratives of women within the same bloodline and the suffering that they all share, in attempts to create a semblance of a better life for those they love. Told from the perspectives of immigrant detention centers and corrupt political entities, this work of art will be heavy on my heart for days to come. 

5/5 I am left speechless and heartbroken.

Rina

*3.5
Very eye-opening and heavy for a short book. The writing was good, it started off so strong and I wish I could say it ended the same. The ending wasn't bad per se, I just found it rather abrupt. For me, there wasn't any clarity but maybe that was the point. This is told in non-linear narratives, even with smooth narration I had to flip back to previous chapters a few times to take note of how many years have passed; the family tree at the start of the book helped but I think it could have worked better for me had the narratives been linear. Still a good book though, so emotional. The parallels between the timelines were so good too, I was reeling.

Raven Stone

Beautifully heartbreaking. Well written, although the timeline jumps for the main character were a little confusing. I had to flip back a few times to keep the timeline straight in my head, but I don't feel it was bad enough to deter someone from reading this debut novel. 

Claire

Multigenerational family dramas always hit me hard, but even then this was something special. I sobbed like a baby at the ending – already can't wait to read Garcia's next book.

Daryl Houston

I liked this one but found myself wishing the various threads were woven a little more tightly together, though I imagine the looser weave is by design. I also just wanted more. For example, I really liked the part of the book that was set farther back in time, but there was precious little of it. The character who gets the most focus (Jeanette) wasn't all that interesting to me. The trans-generational stories were. In short, I think I would've liked this one more if had been a 500-page novel, as there's a lot to work with here and it doesn't feel like a complete treatment of the material.

Emily Christensen

Of Women and Salt was one of my most anticipated books of the year! What starts off as a slow read (and had me slightly nervous it wouldn’t live up to my expectations) quickly becomes far more than my initial expectations! 

In just about 200 pages, author @gabimgarcia masterfully packs a huge punch with multiple storylines and plenty of commentary on social issues, the patriarchy, and motherhood. 

Of Women and Salt is a poignant storyline of two families through generations woven together. The first storyline following five generations of Cuban women, and the second following mother & daughter from El Salvador. 

This is a story of redemption, imperfection, connectedness and so much more. I really appreciated how much we learn about Cuban history (which I didn’t know much about) and immigration (and its nuances among different groups of immigrants). 

Feel free to judge this book by its cover because it is perfect both inside and out. 

Definitely read this if you wanted to read American Dirt (which I haven’t) for a story on immigration to the US but want to read an OwnVoice perspective.

TW: drug use & overdose, deportation, domestic abuse.

Of Women and Salt A Novel

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