Of Women and Salt: A Novel

(Audio book)
Lots of gravitas for such a young writer. I enjoyed the Cuban history, the women's narratives, and look forward to reading more from this strong voice.

Heart wrenching story about the complicated family relationships between women... Daughters, cousins, mothers, and grandmothers. Garcia gives the readers a glimpse of cuban history, and background of El Salvador and Mexico. She delves into themes of immigration struggles, the toll of beauty, and addiction. Very well written book. I wish there was less skipping around with the timeline as this made it hard to follow. I was also left wanting more of the Cuban great-grandmother story.

I love the way that Gabriela narrates and tells the story from multiple perspectives. This was so beautifully written. With roots in both Cuba and America, she delves into the lives of the characters and how they tie together.

Such. Difficult. Lives. Most of the story follows Jeanette, a recovering junkie who is the daughter of Carmen, who escaped Cuba and her family as a young woman. Jeanette tries to care for Ana, the daughter of a neighbor who was taken by ICE in the middle of the night, but is unable to persist. Ana rejoins her mother in a detention center, then as they are deported. Every part of this book was an eye opener - detention centers, family violence, abject poverty, drug and sexual abuse. And yet, these women persevere and even find hope.

I really enjoyed the multigenerational aspect of this novel. I was a bit disappointed by the ending and how the loose ends were somewhat loosely tied together.