What do you think?
Rate this book
The Salt Roads
A landmark work by a brilliant young author, THE SALT ROADS transports readers across centuries and civilizations as it fearlessly explores the relationships women have with their lovers, their people, and the divine. Jeanne Duval, the ginger-colored entertainer, struggles with her lover poet Charles Baudelaire...Mer, plantation slave and doctor, both hungers for and dreads liberation...and Thais, a dark-skinned beauty from Alexandria, is impelled to seek a glorious revelation-as Ezili, a being born of hope, unites them all. Interweaving acts of brutality with passionate unions of spirit and flesh, this is a narrative that shocks, entertains, and dazzles-from an award-winning writer who dares to redefine the art of storytelling.
A Nebula Award nominee -- A Locus Magazine recommended book
A Nebula Award nominee -- A Locus Magazine recommended book
416 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
About the author
Nalo Hopkinson
142 books1,950 followersNalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews
March 1, 2017
This is the third book I have read by Nalo Hopkinson, still until Veronica chose it for the Sword and Laser pick, it was unknown to me. There is a lot going on here - African mythology, ancient ritual, an international cast of women spanning different time periods, magic or voodoo, slave revolutions, slavery, freedom, etc., etc. In fact I am feeling I should not have read it the way I did, all but 50 pages in one sitting. I feel like all of it is still swirling around in my head.
One thing I know is that I appreciate that the author lets the reader do the work to fit the pieces together and fill in the gaps. She is not overly directive in saying "And now the goddess is doing this" but lets her words narrate some of the shifts in time and place.
What baffles me after reading it, in a good way, is to realize how many of the characters in this novel (who feel elevated and perhaps unreal) actually lived and are on record. Even Saint Mary the Dusky (and I loved the author's version presented as what might be true if it weren't filtered by a man seeking attention.)
If you are easily offended, stay away. There are likely too many strong women deciding who they want to have sex with for your tastes, also death, torture, and the difficulty of births without medical care. But if you want to spin together historical people and places with ancient goddess religion and strong women, this is the place.
One thing I know is that I appreciate that the author lets the reader do the work to fit the pieces together and fill in the gaps. She is not overly directive in saying "And now the goddess is doing this" but lets her words narrate some of the shifts in time and place.
What baffles me after reading it, in a good way, is to realize how many of the characters in this novel (who feel elevated and perhaps unreal) actually lived and are on record. Even Saint Mary the Dusky (and I loved the author's version presented as what might be true if it weren't filtered by a man seeking attention.)
If you are easily offended, stay away. There are likely too many strong women deciding who they want to have sex with for your tastes, also death, torture, and the difficulty of births without medical care. But if you want to spin together historical people and places with ancient goddess religion and strong women, this is the place.
September 19, 2017
There was lots to like about this book. I think it's the first time I've read about life on a sugar plantation and life as a slave in the Caribbean. Couple that with a few love stories unfolding and an impending slave revolt - it was enough to keep me tuned in.
However, there were a couple of things that brought it down to 3 stars for me. As the narrative vacillates between the three sets of characters, the connection comes through the gods that occupy the characters' bodies. I felt the movement between storylines was unbalanced. I missed some characters while reading about others, and the third set of characters seemed to come out of nowhere, appearing late in the book.
I wasn't aware that two of the storylines follow characters that are sex workers when I picked up the book. So I didn’t expect there to be so many sex scenes. In addition, Hopkinson includes heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual interactions, which I think is uncommon for one book and for a book set in the times of this one.
I do plan to read more of her work. Brown Girl in the Ring will likely be next.
However, there were a couple of things that brought it down to 3 stars for me. As the narrative vacillates between the three sets of characters, the connection comes through the gods that occupy the characters' bodies. I felt the movement between storylines was unbalanced. I missed some characters while reading about others, and the third set of characters seemed to come out of nowhere, appearing late in the book.
I wasn't aware that two of the storylines follow characters that are sex workers when I picked up the book. So I didn’t expect there to be so many sex scenes. In addition, Hopkinson includes heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual interactions, which I think is uncommon for one book and for a book set in the times of this one.
I do plan to read more of her work. Brown Girl in the Ring will likely be next.
January 27, 2015
Undoubtedly, a tour-de-force of magical realism.
Here, Hopkinson does not merely aim to tell a story. She aims to create a collage illuminating the experiences of black women throughout history.
The first, and perhaps the primary character introduced is Mer, a slave in Haiti, shortly before the revolution. She faces hard decisions when faced with choices about whether to seek her own freedom or to stay and try to help the other slaves (she's the closest thing to a doctor they have). Love and loyalty are complex things to negotiate, for her, and her actions are not always appreciated or understood by those around her.
The narrative also closely focuses on an actual historical character: Jeanne Duval, known as the mistress of Charles Baudelaire. As a mixed-race woman in 19th-century Paris, in a relationship with a wealthy white man, she also has a minefield to negotiate through life.
The third, (and strangely much smaller) story here is that of Thais, an Ethiopian prostitute in Egypt. In search of a better life (and adventure) she and her best friend embark on a journey to Greece. Her fate is to be remembered by history as Saint Mary of Egypt.
There are many parallels between the lives of these three women, even separated as they are by time, geography and circumstance. Each is caught on a low rung of the social hierarchy due to circumstances beyond her control. Each ends up in a land far from that of her birth. And each must make choices about who to love and who to cleave to.
Tying together these three disparate stories is the 'magical' aspect of the novel: the African goddess Lasirén or Ezili, a goddess of water and love, a rival to the spirit of war. The spirit observes, possesses, influences the turn of events.
I've read a few things by Hopkinson, and I would say this is her most notable work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the opportunity to read the new ebook edition of this book. As always, my opinions are my own.
Here, Hopkinson does not merely aim to tell a story. She aims to create a collage illuminating the experiences of black women throughout history.
The first, and perhaps the primary character introduced is Mer, a slave in Haiti, shortly before the revolution. She faces hard decisions when faced with choices about whether to seek her own freedom or to stay and try to help the other slaves (she's the closest thing to a doctor they have). Love and loyalty are complex things to negotiate, for her, and her actions are not always appreciated or understood by those around her.
The narrative also closely focuses on an actual historical character: Jeanne Duval, known as the mistress of Charles Baudelaire. As a mixed-race woman in 19th-century Paris, in a relationship with a wealthy white man, she also has a minefield to negotiate through life.
The third, (and strangely much smaller) story here is that of Thais, an Ethiopian prostitute in Egypt. In search of a better life (and adventure) she and her best friend embark on a journey to Greece. Her fate is to be remembered by history as Saint Mary of Egypt.
There are many parallels between the lives of these three women, even separated as they are by time, geography and circumstance. Each is caught on a low rung of the social hierarchy due to circumstances beyond her control. Each ends up in a land far from that of her birth. And each must make choices about who to love and who to cleave to.
Tying together these three disparate stories is the 'magical' aspect of the novel: the African goddess Lasirén or Ezili, a goddess of water and love, a rival to the spirit of war. The spirit observes, possesses, influences the turn of events.
I've read a few things by Hopkinson, and I would say this is her most notable work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the opportunity to read the new ebook edition of this book. As always, my opinions are my own.
August 27, 2014
My first thought after beginning to read The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson was “Why did it take me so long to read this book? It’s SO AWESOME.”
My second thought: “Holy crap, there’s lesbian sex twice in the first fifteen pages—why doesn’t the blurb for this book make it clear that’s it’s queer?”
Uh, let’s back track a little. I’ve read Caribbean-born and raised, current Torontonian Hopkinson’s first and most recent book and enjoyed both, but I really loved The Salt Roads. It’s an ambitious, wide-reaching novel that is at once historical, spiritual, magical, and fantastical. I love the kind of historical fiction that reimagines and brings women from the past alive and into the spotlight, and Hopkinson does this so well, but she also refuses to stay within the bounds of realist historical fiction. There’s a dash of Caribbean voodoo, fourth century Christian pilgrimages, and smoky visions emerging out of a pot of surprising liquids. It’s a tantalizing, fabulous mix and a moving recreation and celebration of black women’s voices and spaces, with a lot of attention to shadism throughout...
See the rest of my review at my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wor...
My second thought: “Holy crap, there’s lesbian sex twice in the first fifteen pages—why doesn’t the blurb for this book make it clear that’s it’s queer?”
Uh, let’s back track a little. I’ve read Caribbean-born and raised, current Torontonian Hopkinson’s first and most recent book and enjoyed both, but I really loved The Salt Roads. It’s an ambitious, wide-reaching novel that is at once historical, spiritual, magical, and fantastical. I love the kind of historical fiction that reimagines and brings women from the past alive and into the spotlight, and Hopkinson does this so well, but she also refuses to stay within the bounds of realist historical fiction. There’s a dash of Caribbean voodoo, fourth century Christian pilgrimages, and smoky visions emerging out of a pot of surprising liquids. It’s a tantalizing, fabulous mix and a moving recreation and celebration of black women’s voices and spaces, with a lot of attention to shadism throughout...
See the rest of my review at my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wor...
February 2, 2015
“I’m born from countless journeys chained tight in the bellies of ships. Born from hope vibrant and hope destroyed. Born of bitter experience. Born of wishing for better.”
It’s hard to describe The Salt Roads. It’s an interweaving of three disparate historical legends and an exploration of gods and archetypes, but it uses these fragments to try to construct a far larger story. The story starts with Mer, a slave in Saint Domingue, but later weaves in two more, with the goddess Ezili as the link between the characters. It was only after the introduction of Jeanne Duval that I realized that the novel not only involved historical settings but also women who became legends themselves.
In the novel, salt is not only the taste of blood and sweat and tears, the essence of the sea that carried the slave ships, but also as “the white man’s obeah” that bound the slaves to the new land. In reality, the salt roads were trade routes, essential connections between distant lands. In the same way, the gods travel the salt roads within the “storystream”:
“I, we, flow out of the ebb, tread the wet roads of tears, of blood, of salt, break like waves into our infinite selves.”The writing alternates between the strong dialectic speech of the characters and vivid lyricism. The chapters of the novel are framed as a chant that carries the themes of the story.
I tend to shy away from novels that use real people as protagonists, partly because I have some sneaking sense that it is disrespectful to so fully appropriate another person’s life, but mainly because it is so very restrictive. For me, this became an issue in the novel, and with Jeanne’s story in particular. I found Jeanne a very static and not particularly likeable or interesting character. She seemed far more enslaved than either Thais or Mer, though she is the only one who is free. She is a victim, but her chains are of her own making.
Thais’ story had an ironic twist I enjoyed to the full, but like Jeanne, she felt flat to me. Mer’s parts of the story were the ones that enthralled me. Unlike the others, Mer is not herself a historical figure, at least as far as I can tell from a bit of Wikipedia-hunting. As she is a nameless shadow on the outskirts of Francois Makandal’s story, Hopkinson had far more freedom in constructing Mer than Jeanne or even Thais, and I think that this might be why Mer has so much more dimensionality. In some ways, I think the story is an uneasy blend of history and fiction; constrained by the truth, few of the stories came to a satisfying climax, and though I understand the framing concept, the stories still felt disconnected.
In some ways, I think the book might have been too ambitious; I would have loved to see Hopkinson abandon the attempt at universality and instead focus only on Mer’s story, which is rich enough for a novel in itself. Even so, Hopkinson is a talented writer with a fascinating story to tell, and in The Salt Roads, she displays her gift for combining suspense and symbolism, history and heartache.
I received this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Open Roads Integrated Media, in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!
October 10, 2015
Originally received to review, but I’ve picked it up legitimately since, because wow, it’s been a while. I’ve been meaning to read Nalo Hopkinson’s work for a while — I know I got partway through The Midnight Robber at one point, and I’m not sure why I stopped; it wasn’t lack of interest — and from other reviews, this sounded great. In many ways, I’m not entirely sure how to judge this: it’s about black people, about a mythology that links between time and space, and it’s full of pain and degradation visited on those people by white people. It’s visceral, with sinuous and earthy language; sensual and sexual and rooted in black bodies, black experiences.
It wasn’t quite my taste in fiction, still, and I’m wary of judging it because of that. Because it’s not my usual kind of story. But I think I got at least some of the richness of the novel: the intertwined lives, the physicality of the women. I could connect to the queerness of several of the characters, although the sexuality is not something I can easily connect with. I could connect to the relationships between people — Mer’s concern for Tipingee and Marie-Claire, the awkwardness and respect between her and Patrice. The issues with Mackandal, the fact that Mer opposes him but still wants to keep him safe, as one of her people, doesn’t want him to suffer. For me, she was the most real character; there wasn’t enough of Thais, and Jeanne Duval’s tempestuous relationship with Baudelaire, while vivid, didn’t appeal to me in the same way.
I’m not a huge fan of shifting POVs, and especially when they’re quite disparate; I didn’t find it too bad here, but sometimes it would take me a while to find my footing again when there’s a switch. Sometimes it worked just right, though, for the shifts, the confusion of the spirit riding those women.
Originally posted here.
It wasn’t quite my taste in fiction, still, and I’m wary of judging it because of that. Because it’s not my usual kind of story. But I think I got at least some of the richness of the novel: the intertwined lives, the physicality of the women. I could connect to the queerness of several of the characters, although the sexuality is not something I can easily connect with. I could connect to the relationships between people — Mer’s concern for Tipingee and Marie-Claire, the awkwardness and respect between her and Patrice. The issues with Mackandal, the fact that Mer opposes him but still wants to keep him safe, as one of her people, doesn’t want him to suffer. For me, she was the most real character; there wasn’t enough of Thais, and Jeanne Duval’s tempestuous relationship with Baudelaire, while vivid, didn’t appeal to me in the same way.
I’m not a huge fan of shifting POVs, and especially when they’re quite disparate; I didn’t find it too bad here, but sometimes it would take me a while to find my footing again when there’s a switch. Sometimes it worked just right, though, for the shifts, the confusion of the spirit riding those women.
Originally posted here.
April 1, 2017
Executive Summary: This is a book I would have never read if not for Sword & Laser, and while I didn't love it, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. My main criticism is that it had far too little fantasy for my liking.
Full Review
I struggled with the start of this book. I didn't know what was going on, and it didn't feel like a fantasy story at all. I never fully came to enjoy Jeanne as a character, so that probably didn't help things.
A friend of mine who finished it before me, told me he enjoyed it more once he didn't read it expecting a fantasy book, and I have to say that helped me a lot. It's often hard to categorize books, but I'd probably be more inclined to call this book historical fiction than fantasy. There are fantastical elements, but they aren't always there.
To me, most of the fantasy elements were simply there to serve as a framing device to connect three different stories. Jeanne in France, Mer in Haiti and Meritet in Egypt. Of the three, I enjoyed Meritet the best. It's a shame she doesn't enter the book until much later, I might have been hooked a bit sooner.
I will say that despite never warming up to Jeanne, I did warm up to her story somewhat. Mer's story was probably the hardest to read, but they were all tough. This book can be graphic quite frequently. Both in terms of sexual content, and with regards to the awful things endured by slaves.
After reading only a chapter here or there at some point I found myself reading 100 pages at a time, and I finished the second half of the book far quicker than I did the first half.
I like historical fiction, so I think I liked this as a result. Anyone looking for a fantasy driven book may be left wanting. There is the fantastical element of the goddess Ezili tying the stories together, but that's about it.
Overall, a decent book, but I wasn't blown away. I may pick up something else by Ms. Hopkinson in the future, as I found her to be a talented writer.
Full Review
I struggled with the start of this book. I didn't know what was going on, and it didn't feel like a fantasy story at all. I never fully came to enjoy Jeanne as a character, so that probably didn't help things.
A friend of mine who finished it before me, told me he enjoyed it more once he didn't read it expecting a fantasy book, and I have to say that helped me a lot. It's often hard to categorize books, but I'd probably be more inclined to call this book historical fiction than fantasy. There are fantastical elements, but they aren't always there.
To me, most of the fantasy elements were simply there to serve as a framing device to connect three different stories. Jeanne in France, Mer in Haiti and Meritet in Egypt. Of the three, I enjoyed Meritet the best. It's a shame she doesn't enter the book until much later, I might have been hooked a bit sooner.
I will say that despite never warming up to Jeanne, I did warm up to her story somewhat. Mer's story was probably the hardest to read, but they were all tough. This book can be graphic quite frequently. Both in terms of sexual content, and with regards to the awful things endured by slaves.
After reading only a chapter here or there at some point I found myself reading 100 pages at a time, and I finished the second half of the book far quicker than I did the first half.
I like historical fiction, so I think I liked this as a result. Anyone looking for a fantasy driven book may be left wanting. There is the fantastical element of the goddess Ezili tying the stories together, but that's about it.
Overall, a decent book, but I wasn't blown away. I may pick up something else by Ms. Hopkinson in the future, as I found her to be a talented writer.
Read
February 14, 2018An extraordinarily powerful and strange book. This is a brutal read about the suffering inflicted on black people (slavery in the sugar cane plantations, of which the detail is almost unbearable; racism in 19th century Paris) and about the particular pain felt by black women. The three main characters here (in three separate tales from different times) are a slave, a prostitute, and a slave prostitute. Considering which, it is an astonishingly hopeful read. Not because Hopinson gives us happy endings, but because she shows us the eternal resistance, the ability to find small joys and love even in the worst times, the hope.
It is a hard read at points. Mer, on the plantation, cries out in agony not just about the physical suffering, but about the emotional scars of the injustice her people suffer, and those psychological wounds are brilliantly conveyed in her and the Frenchwoman's story. Thais, the Egyptian girl, gives us a different approach, of someone who's cut herself off emotionally and accepted her situation, which makes her story less immediately compelling, and then we see her forced to confront her womanhood and the breakdown that results. But, all these women are resilient, and all of them fight with everything they have, and the end impression is a cry of anger but not hopelessness.
The fantasy element is most prevalent in the loa of the Caribbean section, and in the unifying ghost-consciousness that travels between the women. It didn't quite feel entirely integrated to the stories, somehow, possibly because it works so differently in the French section.
Also, this book is very queer. Lots of lesbian sex, bi rep, nonstandard heterosex. Again, voices given to the ignored and belittled and persecuted.
A fascinating read, if a hard one at points.
It is a hard read at points. Mer, on the plantation, cries out in agony not just about the physical suffering, but about the emotional scars of the injustice her people suffer, and those psychological wounds are brilliantly conveyed in her and the Frenchwoman's story. Thais, the Egyptian girl, gives us a different approach, of someone who's cut herself off emotionally and accepted her situation, which makes her story less immediately compelling, and then we see her forced to confront her womanhood and the breakdown that results. But, all these women are resilient, and all of them fight with everything they have, and the end impression is a cry of anger but not hopelessness.
The fantasy element is most prevalent in the loa of the Caribbean section, and in the unifying ghost-consciousness that travels between the women. It didn't quite feel entirely integrated to the stories, somehow, possibly because it works so differently in the French section.
Also, this book is very queer. Lots of lesbian sex, bi rep, nonstandard heterosex. Again, voices given to the ignored and belittled and persecuted.
A fascinating read, if a hard one at points.
December 5, 2021
I have to give this 5 stars. I've read a lot of other authors between this one and my last Hopkinson and that emphasized even more how much I adore her blunt, sassy and utterly natural way to write about everything concerning body and sex. I could listen to her writing without end - especially when narrated by Bahni Turpin.
July 18, 2018
Sensual, atmospheric, highly unique voice. The interconnectedness and the shuffling between POVs might be disorienting - with a very late introduction to the third one - but overall, this is a fascinating reading experience. Magical realism and #Girlpower! Definitely won't be my last Hopkinson.
February 22, 2021
La historia de Makandal y la independencia de Haití me parece uno de esos episodios históricos extraordinarios y que no tiene el reconocimiento ni el lugar que se merece dentro de los grandes sucesos del mundo. Por ello, desde que conocí la historia a través de El reino de este mundo de Alejo Carpentier, me he interesado en libros que traten sobre el tema y en ese sentido, la sinopsis de esta novela, "Los Caminos de Sal" me pareció muy interesante. La novela se sitúa en tres epocas distintas: en el Haití de Makandal; en el París de Baudelaire; y en Alejandría de los primeros siglos antes de Cristo. El hilo conductor de la trama es el espíritu de una diosa africana que posee a tres mujeres en las épocas mencionadas y que las hace valientes e independientes.
En realidad que todo pintaba para una historia espectacular pero creo que el libro no cumplió su cometido, y el problema fue, en mi opinión, la gran ambición del mismo. Tenemos tres épocas históricas muy ricas, personajes sumamente interesantes y extraordinarios, pero creo que en el afán de cubrirlo todo, en algún momento se volvió abrumador. Apenas la narración comenzaba a despegar con la historia en Haití cuando de pronto nos transportábamos al París de mediados de siglo y luego se nos transportaba a la historia de una esclava en la Grecia Antigua. En lo personal, creo que me hubiera gustado más enfocarme en una historia, máximo dos y así vincularlas con mucho más impacto. La historia de la esclava me ha parecido la más débil de todas y francamente innecesaria.
Asimismo, creo que el elemento fantástico salió sobrando e incluso fue un distractor. No sé si en este caso fue que escuché la historia como un audiolibro y en ocasiones me parecía confuso cuando el espíritu de la diosa hablaba pero, aun sabiendo era ella quien hablaba, sus intervenciones me parecieron algo irrelevantes. En general mi impresión fue que, al momento de empezar a apasionarme con la voz de una de las protagonistas, terminaba el capítulo y abruptamente era transportada a otra historia.
Aunque no ha sido un libro memorable, mi interés sobre la historia de Makandal y de Jeanne Duval, o la Venus Negra, amante de Baudelaire, ha vuelto y sin duda buscaré leer más sobre estos periodos históricos.
En realidad que todo pintaba para una historia espectacular pero creo que el libro no cumplió su cometido, y el problema fue, en mi opinión, la gran ambición del mismo. Tenemos tres épocas históricas muy ricas, personajes sumamente interesantes y extraordinarios, pero creo que en el afán de cubrirlo todo, en algún momento se volvió abrumador. Apenas la narración comenzaba a despegar con la historia en Haití cuando de pronto nos transportábamos al París de mediados de siglo y luego se nos transportaba a la historia de una esclava en la Grecia Antigua. En lo personal, creo que me hubiera gustado más enfocarme en una historia, máximo dos y así vincularlas con mucho más impacto. La historia de la esclava me ha parecido la más débil de todas y francamente innecesaria.
Asimismo, creo que el elemento fantástico salió sobrando e incluso fue un distractor. No sé si en este caso fue que escuché la historia como un audiolibro y en ocasiones me parecía confuso cuando el espíritu de la diosa hablaba pero, aun sabiendo era ella quien hablaba, sus intervenciones me parecieron algo irrelevantes. En general mi impresión fue que, al momento de empezar a apasionarme con la voz de una de las protagonistas, terminaba el capítulo y abruptamente era transportada a otra historia.
Aunque no ha sido un libro memorable, mi interés sobre la historia de Makandal y de Jeanne Duval, o la Venus Negra, amante de Baudelaire, ha vuelto y sin duda buscaré leer más sobre estos periodos históricos.
February 25, 2010
1. The Salt Roads is SO FRUSTRATING. Because there were a couple things I really loved about it and one or two things I hated with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. And those things seemed more significant to the book than the things I liked.
2. First of all, I love the idea of the novel. It's a powerful and layered concept for a book. There are so many angles to examine, and so many resources to mine, that the potential is enormous. It could have been remarkably affecting. It is certainly an engaging book, although I almost feel that by using so many first-person viewpoints, Hopkinson is, um, cheating. Or anyway . . . she's covering all her bases, without having to work very hard at it.
3. I also really loved how flexible sexuality is. That makes a kind of sense, because the book takes place before modern constructions of sexuality (which I think are loosening, but only because we have more names for things), but how often does historical fiction care about that? Not often enough. But ambiguity is present here, in spades. So that is definitely a point in the book's favor.
4. Okay, but now I get to talk about the things I hated. Primarily, I hated the way The Salt Roads was written. LOATHED it. On reflection, the style of the book is tied very closely to the first-person narration, so the sentences are choppy and conversational. Unfortunately, this makes them seem disingenuous - although you feel very close (physically, not emotionally) to the characters, it's difficult to connect with them. I'm tempted to call the style stream-of-consciousness, except I like stream-of-consciousness, at least in its modernist incarnation . . . this is post-modern, but usually I quite like that too. Anyway, here is a passage - picked at random - that may help indicate why I find the style wearing (although this is a third person interlude, actually):
5. Another problem with the book is that it is physical without being sensual at all. The sex scenes are fairly graphic, but they are barely interesting (or, at least, the sex isn't; some of the politics are). Hopkinson is very good at conveying physical discomfort, but pleasure is not within her capabilities. Given the role destructive pleasure plays in at least one story line (Jeanne Duval and Baudelaire), I like it when books have a definite sense of physicality, and that is certainly a strength of The Salt Roads.
5a. But, um, I do think a passage from The Golden Notebook is relevant:
Basically, it feels a little like the physical detail (which in TSR is purely factual, and not atmospheric) is used a bit like a crutch.
6. Much like the book in general, I wanted to love the characters and ended up disliking most of them. Thais comes too late in the book to be integrated with the other stories - she feels tacked on, although I love the concept. Also, she is rather stupid, and that's off-putting. Mer is conceptually interesting, and makes fascinating choices, but mostly two-dimensional. I think Jeanne Duval is the most successful, the most rounded character and probably the only dynamic one. The parts of the novel from Ezili's perspective are truly bad.
7. If I hadn't wanted to like this book so much, I would have liked it more. Sorry, The Salt Roads.
2. First of all, I love the idea of the novel. It's a powerful and layered concept for a book. There are so many angles to examine, and so many resources to mine, that the potential is enormous. It could have been remarkably affecting. It is certainly an engaging book, although I almost feel that by using so many first-person viewpoints, Hopkinson is, um, cheating. Or anyway . . . she's covering all her bases, without having to work very hard at it.
3. I also really loved how flexible sexuality is. That makes a kind of sense, because the book takes place before modern constructions of sexuality (which I think are loosening, but only because we have more names for things), but how often does historical fiction care about that? Not often enough. But ambiguity is present here, in spades. So that is definitely a point in the book's favor.
4. Okay, but now I get to talk about the things I hated. Primarily, I hated the way The Salt Roads was written. LOATHED it. On reflection, the style of the book is tied very closely to the first-person narration, so the sentences are choppy and conversational. Unfortunately, this makes them seem disingenuous - although you feel very close (physically, not emotionally) to the characters, it's difficult to connect with them. I'm tempted to call the style stream-of-consciousness, except I like stream-of-consciousness, at least in its modernist incarnation . . . this is post-modern, but usually I quite like that too. Anyway, here is a passage - picked at random - that may help indicate why I find the style wearing (although this is a third person interlude, actually):
Patrice sighed. They were near his cabin. He kept walking, kept thinking. He heard Makandal's soft goodbye, and out of his eye saw the three-and-a-half-legged hound running off to where Couva would be twisted painfully into the stocks, her body cramping and twitching. You gods, let Makandal's plan work. Let the Ginen cease suffering.
5. Another problem with the book is that it is physical without being sensual at all. The sex scenes are fairly graphic, but they are barely interesting (or, at least, the sex isn't; some of the politics are). Hopkinson is very good at conveying physical discomfort, but pleasure is not within her capabilities. Given the role destructive pleasure plays in at least one story line (Jeanne Duval and Baudelaire), I like it when books have a definite sense of physicality, and that is certainly a strength of The Salt Roads.
5a. But, um, I do think a passage from The Golden Notebook is relevant:
So all that is a failure too. The blue notebook, which I had expected to be the most truthful of the notebooks, is worse than any of them. I expected a terse record of facts to present some sort of a pattern when I read it over, but this sort of record is as false as the account of what happened on 15th September, 1954, which I read now embarrassed because of its emotionalism and because of its assumption that if I wrote ‘at nine-thirty I went to the lavatory to shit and at two to pee and at four I sweated’, this would be more real than if I simply wrote what I thought. And yet I still don’t understand why. Because although in life things like going to the lavatory or changing a tampon when one has one’s period are dealt with on an almost unconscious level, I can recall every detail of a day two years ago because I remember that Molly had blood on her skirt and I had to warn her to go upstairs and change before her son came in.
Basically, it feels a little like the physical detail (which in TSR is purely factual, and not atmospheric) is used a bit like a crutch.
6. Much like the book in general, I wanted to love the characters and ended up disliking most of them. Thais comes too late in the book to be integrated with the other stories - she feels tacked on, although I love the concept. Also, she is rather stupid, and that's off-putting. Mer is conceptually interesting, and makes fascinating choices, but mostly two-dimensional. I think Jeanne Duval is the most successful, the most rounded character and probably the only dynamic one. The parts of the novel from Ezili's perspective are truly bad.
7. If I hadn't wanted to like this book so much, I would have liked it more. Sorry, The Salt Roads.
January 28, 2015
Review: THE SALT ROADS by Nalo Hopkinson
Beautiful storytelling, poetically imaged, lyrical and lilting, heart wrenching and heart lifting: THE SALT ROADS is an extraordinary offering, evocative of the Goddess of Love, Erzili, in many forms, characters, and continents; across eras, love and its companion, desire, survive and thrive, sometimes fully in blossom, others like desert plants struggling for water. Surely this will be a Best of 2015,
Beautiful storytelling, poetically imaged, lyrical and lilting, heart wrenching and heart lifting: THE SALT ROADS is an extraordinary offering, evocative of the Goddess of Love, Erzili, in many forms, characters, and continents; across eras, love and its companion, desire, survive and thrive, sometimes fully in blossom, others like desert plants struggling for water. Surely this will be a Best of 2015,
February 17, 2017
It took a while for me to get use to the writing style, did a little wiki research into the main character and by the end I found it entertaining.
October 2, 2013
Review initially published on my blog, Writing by Numbers, here.
The salt roads are fluid. They flow across continents, ages, and realms, linking African women throughout history with their deities. Full of tears, sweat, oceans, blood, alcohol, piss, and sexual liquids of all kinds.
The salt roads are painful. Sometimes fogged with pain, sometimes raw with it.
The salt roads are paved with powerful desires. The characters hunger for food, luxuries, sex, love, companionship. Respect. Freedom.
There are four main characters: Ezili, an African goddess; Thais, a Greek/Nubian slave and prostitute; Mer, an Afro-Caribbean slave and midwife; and Jeanne, an Afro-French poet’s muse in decadent Paris. Thais and Jeanne are based on real women, St. Mary of Egypt and Jeanne Duval, and the novel is sprinkled with references to other fascinating African historical figures. Rich fodder for those of us who like to look up nuggets.
This book demands an unflinching reader. Hopkinson pulls no punches with the graphic quality of her sex scenes and her torture scenes alike. Whether it’s a woman dying slowly of syphilis and poverty, a slave being mutilated, or Jeanne and her poet delighting in debauchery, the language and imagery are uncompromising even as they are elegantly wrought. There is beauty, too, in passion and sacrifice and the brief moments of joy in these otherwise weighty lives.
The 213 in 2013 series chronicles every book I read in 2013. Each review contains exactly 213 words. For more, visit http://www.ararebit.wordpress.com.
The salt roads are fluid. They flow across continents, ages, and realms, linking African women throughout history with their deities. Full of tears, sweat, oceans, blood, alcohol, piss, and sexual liquids of all kinds.
The salt roads are painful. Sometimes fogged with pain, sometimes raw with it.
The salt roads are paved with powerful desires. The characters hunger for food, luxuries, sex, love, companionship. Respect. Freedom.
There are four main characters: Ezili, an African goddess; Thais, a Greek/Nubian slave and prostitute; Mer, an Afro-Caribbean slave and midwife; and Jeanne, an Afro-French poet’s muse in decadent Paris. Thais and Jeanne are based on real women, St. Mary of Egypt and Jeanne Duval, and the novel is sprinkled with references to other fascinating African historical figures. Rich fodder for those of us who like to look up nuggets.
This book demands an unflinching reader. Hopkinson pulls no punches with the graphic quality of her sex scenes and her torture scenes alike. Whether it’s a woman dying slowly of syphilis and poverty, a slave being mutilated, or Jeanne and her poet delighting in debauchery, the language and imagery are uncompromising even as they are elegantly wrought. There is beauty, too, in passion and sacrifice and the brief moments of joy in these otherwise weighty lives.
The 213 in 2013 series chronicles every book I read in 2013. Each review contains exactly 213 words. For more, visit http://www.ararebit.wordpress.com.
July 27, 2021
It’s a banger folks. I loved this so much. I usually shy away from stories that have a lot of Black suffering and of course a book set partly on a slave plantation is going to be serving that up. But, it was my book club’s pick of the month and the synopsis really drew me in when I read it so I decided to go for it with an open mind and I am so glad that I did.
There is a lot going on in this - in the best way though. We follow the lives of a number of women in three separate timelines: two women on a slave plantation in Haiti, a Black woman in 1800s Paris and a woman in 400s BC Egypt and a bunch of other characters in their lives ( the women are the highlight though and we love to see it). Each timeline has its own story that we’re discovering but weaving through it all is this presence working towards some unknown end....that’s all I’m going to say.
I felt all the things as I read this. I was sad, mad, happy, pettily triumphant, weighed down...and through it all I was hooked waiting to learn what comes next. There is also a lot of good writing in here too. I kept highlighting passages as I read and stopping to contemplate a number of things said in the course of the storytelling. Also, the casual queerness in this book was just *chef's kiss*. Honestly, it’s just a really good book and you should read it, if you check out the synopsis and think you might be interested.
There is a lot going on in this - in the best way though. We follow the lives of a number of women in three separate timelines: two women on a slave plantation in Haiti, a Black woman in 1800s Paris and a woman in 400s BC Egypt and a bunch of other characters in their lives ( the women are the highlight though and we love to see it). Each timeline has its own story that we’re discovering but weaving through it all is this presence working towards some unknown end....that’s all I’m going to say.
I felt all the things as I read this. I was sad, mad, happy, pettily triumphant, weighed down...and through it all I was hooked waiting to learn what comes next. There is also a lot of good writing in here too. I kept highlighting passages as I read and stopping to contemplate a number of things said in the course of the storytelling. Also, the casual queerness in this book was just *chef's kiss*. Honestly, it’s just a really good book and you should read it, if you check out the synopsis and think you might be interested.
February 27, 2016
Nope, this was not for me. A choppy, chaotic, discontinuous story-telling that never gave me a chance to connect with any of the characters, and supernatural elements that weren’t given enough reality for them to matter. I was so disappointed! (The best part of this was the author interview in the back – it left me thinking if only I were a better person I might have enjoyed this more. The story she said she wanted to tell sounded really interesting!)
May 25, 2013
a powerful work about the resilience of a people brilliantly written by Nalo Hopkinson. my only difficulty with this book was the three (or more) streams of narrative & the ethereal out of body being that links them all. i always find when a bunch of different narratives are going on at the same time that one is strongest & that's the one i am most interested in. in this case, the Haitian slaves working in the sugar cane fields were what caught my attention most. the storyline of Jeanne, Baudelaire's lover seems like it could have used further development, as intriguing as it was, it was overcome by its bleakness, a syphilitic woman abandoned by the mama's boy poet. the third story that took place in Alexandria was fascinating too, but barely sketched in. Hopkinson's talent & skill are such that she can write intriguing storylines & compelling characters that i have compassion for, but by putting so much in one book, she overwhelms, at least this reader. & then throwing in the occasional contemporary reference to recent history such as Rosa Parks... still it's a powerful & well-written book.
February 2, 2020
I know this book is categorized as fantasy, but I find it more genre-bending than fantasy alone. I like this writer; she is brave in many ways. If you have a fascination with words as I do, then you will appreciate this book. I was rooting for my Ginen folk the entire time - for Makandal, for Mer, for Tipingee, for Patrice. I wanted them to slowly kill the blans AND the bookkeeper with zero mercy. I also found myself intrigued by the relationship between Thais and Judah (both of whom I met too late in the text). I suppose this is my way of saying that Hopkinson transported me to the various settings (times and places) in this work of fiction. I came away from this book feeling the unparalleled survivor spirit and kinship of my ancestors. Indeed, Nalo, you did our ancestors proud! As a Black woman immigrant from the West Indies, I found a rich, whole, and courageous beauty in this text. For lines that I found most resonant, check out the tweets that I’ve shared @SomerEmpress on Twitter.
January 21, 2011
if for no other reason than the use of the line: "No $%^^ babies" i really enjoyed this book . i am a bit confused as to why the spine said SCIENCE FICTION. there was very little science about it. i reckon the author's other works are actually sci-fi; because this book was full of loa, social climbing, promisicuity, bisexuality, and revolution of the personal & societal variety. i can dig it. it was well written. the themes tied together perfectly. characters were excellent. historical references timely (emancipation/earthquake) being that haiti occupies 80% of the text. could not find anything negative to say or feel about it.
May 10, 2014
An incredible book. The language, the hyper-reality of bodies and embodied experience, the foregrounding of queer relationships -- just amazing and wonderful and harrowing and brilliant.
The one thing keeping me from knocking this into 5 stars is that I felt Meritet's narrative diffused the effect of the other two -- that it started too late in the book and unbalanced things. I can think of any number of reasons to justify its inclusion, but I felt the execution -- especially when compared to the immense success of Mer and Jeanne's respective threads -- was lacking, and I think it would've been a stronger book without it, possibly, for all that I loved Meritet herself.
The one thing keeping me from knocking this into 5 stars is that I felt Meritet's narrative diffused the effect of the other two -- that it started too late in the book and unbalanced things. I can think of any number of reasons to justify its inclusion, but I felt the execution -- especially when compared to the immense success of Mer and Jeanne's respective threads -- was lacking, and I think it would've been a stronger book without it, possibly, for all that I loved Meritet herself.
January 27, 2019
7/10
Finally getting around to reviewing this. Or somewhat of a review; as usual I failed to take notes along the way, and it's now several weeks since finishing. Lets see what I can come up with.
The Salt Roads is a historical fiction/fantasy novel by Jamaican born Nalo Hopkinson. We have the story of Mer, a slave in Haiti, Jeanne Duval (actually a real person, apparently), the mistress of a Frenchman, and then later on in the novel, Thais, a prostitute in Egypt. Each story tells the tale of a women who, while each bound in different ways, are at the mercy of the powers of the time. While I did end up giving it 7/10, I won't say that I enjoyed the novel as a whole; more I appreciated what it tried to do, and the different themes and circumstances it portrayed. Compared to my normal fair, this was something far more different to what I am normally drawn to. More real for one. And far more visceral for another. Hopkinson did not gentle or hide scenes which depicted sex, or gore, or violence, and for some reason it felt a lot more potent.
Perhaps this can be put down to the writing style. At times it's lyrical, and at others it the characters feel a bit flat, and scenes unnecessary. But then again, it's hard to say what's necessary in a story like this; in a way, it's a slice of life novel. You have three women, living their day to day lives, trying to make things better for themselves, and at times those around them. None are heroic, or noble, or main character-esk, they are simply side characters whom we get to follow for a time. Thais is the least developed, we here mostly of her history through what I assumed was a biblical story. Mer is the most interesting; she is the village doctor, a slave of some importance, yet still a slave who works the fields like everyone else. We get to see enslavement and rebellion from her, and the racism that goes along with it all. Jeanne I never really liked, so her story was more of a hindrance to me.
So that's a bit about characters, themes, and plot. A bit. I liked the novel, while not entirely enjoying it. Would I recommend it? That would all depend on you, dear reader, and your preferences. It is definitely not a story for everyone, and the fact that it's so low fantasy will turn away even more. There is a bit of the magical, especially towards the end. An African Goddess, who inhabits the three characters from time to time. I somewhat wonder whether she was necessary, but she was used as a way to show the ties that bind between the women and their causes throughout history. Perhaps could have been used better, but who am I to say.
Finally getting around to reviewing this. Or somewhat of a review; as usual I failed to take notes along the way, and it's now several weeks since finishing. Lets see what I can come up with.
The Salt Roads is a historical fiction/fantasy novel by Jamaican born Nalo Hopkinson. We have the story of Mer, a slave in Haiti, Jeanne Duval (actually a real person, apparently), the mistress of a Frenchman, and then later on in the novel, Thais, a prostitute in Egypt. Each story tells the tale of a women who, while each bound in different ways, are at the mercy of the powers of the time. While I did end up giving it 7/10, I won't say that I enjoyed the novel as a whole; more I appreciated what it tried to do, and the different themes and circumstances it portrayed. Compared to my normal fair, this was something far more different to what I am normally drawn to. More real for one. And far more visceral for another. Hopkinson did not gentle or hide scenes which depicted sex, or gore, or violence, and for some reason it felt a lot more potent.
Perhaps this can be put down to the writing style. At times it's lyrical, and at others it the characters feel a bit flat, and scenes unnecessary. But then again, it's hard to say what's necessary in a story like this; in a way, it's a slice of life novel. You have three women, living their day to day lives, trying to make things better for themselves, and at times those around them. None are heroic, or noble, or main character-esk, they are simply side characters whom we get to follow for a time. Thais is the least developed, we here mostly of her history through what I assumed was a biblical story. Mer is the most interesting; she is the village doctor, a slave of some importance, yet still a slave who works the fields like everyone else. We get to see enslavement and rebellion from her, and the racism that goes along with it all. Jeanne I never really liked, so her story was more of a hindrance to me.
So that's a bit about characters, themes, and plot. A bit. I liked the novel, while not entirely enjoying it. Would I recommend it? That would all depend on you, dear reader, and your preferences. It is definitely not a story for everyone, and the fact that it's so low fantasy will turn away even more. There is a bit of the magical, especially towards the end. An African Goddess, who inhabits the three characters from time to time. I somewhat wonder whether she was necessary, but she was used as a way to show the ties that bind between the women and their causes throughout history. Perhaps could have been used better, but who am I to say.
January 6, 2020
Read this for Lady Vaults book club, at least I started it for that but it took me much longer than a month to finish it. Very interesting and engaging book that really made me think about a lot of different things. It had lots of perspectives (in a unique way) and although challenging at times I appreciated it on multiple levels.
I wish I hadn't taken a break in the middle, but that's on me - not the book! I think it's a great book club picks and I'm happy to finally have finished it!
I wish I hadn't taken a break in the middle, but that's on me - not the book! I think it's a great book club picks and I'm happy to finally have finished it!
June 19, 2021
Much more historical fiction than SF or F, The Salt Roads mostly felt fantastical to me only in the recurring character of the goddess Lasirén who traveled with the novel's other three protagonists across their lives in different centuries. I had uneven love for the intertwined storylines, my investment strong in places and suffering in others. Loved the queer themes the most.
Cw for slavery, slurs, stillbirth and miscarriage, violence, suicide
Cw for slavery, slurs, stillbirth and miscarriage, violence, suicide
October 26, 2009
Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads centers on the spirit, Ezili's (a goddess of love and seduction) emergence in three women throughout time. The reader gets a glimpse of her in Mer, a lesbian slave woman healer, in the early 1800's on the Caribbean island of St. Domingue (Haiti) during a burial of a stillborn child. The second appearance is in the 1880's within Jeanne, a mulatto Parisian dancer and mistress to a white poet whose purse strings are controlled by his domineering mother. The third woman, Meritet, is a prostitute in an ancient (340's A.D.) Egyptian brothel.
Although these women exist during different time periods, Ezili seems to emerge, exist, and influence each woman simultaneously. With Jeanne, she appears in dreams, and wants to live, act, and breathe through her until Jeanne is physically scarred and disabled from the ravages of a sexually transmitted disease. Mer receives her awakening during a riverside burial ceremony of a stillborn child and Meritet has an instance of self-awareness that allows her to experience the independence of Ezili.
Aside from the Ezili storyline, each main character has her fair share of drama, heartbreak, and intrigue. Each are a victim of circumstance; in worlds that were cruel to the black woman. Mer deals with the harsh reality of plantation life and the impending slave revolt that secured Haiti its freedom from colonial rule. The author expertly embeds regional history and folklore into Mer's story. An aging Jeanne struggles with securing her future as a courtesan in a world in which her skin color places her at a disadvantage and Meritet journeys from whoredom to sainthood.
This book is full of symbolism (the incorporation of the value, taste, and healing power of salt, etc. throughout the novel is superb). It also has a mystical and esoteric feel to it; the stories are heart wrenching and the characters are memorable. The author embellished a bit at times with the transcendental themes causing lapses that were very vague and abstract; however for those who enjoy heavy, lyrical prose and surreal themes, it is worth picking up. Overall, it is a wonderfully imagined story that dabbles with the supernatural and issues of self-worth, survival, and redemption.
Although these women exist during different time periods, Ezili seems to emerge, exist, and influence each woman simultaneously. With Jeanne, she appears in dreams, and wants to live, act, and breathe through her until Jeanne is physically scarred and disabled from the ravages of a sexually transmitted disease. Mer receives her awakening during a riverside burial ceremony of a stillborn child and Meritet has an instance of self-awareness that allows her to experience the independence of Ezili.
Aside from the Ezili storyline, each main character has her fair share of drama, heartbreak, and intrigue. Each are a victim of circumstance; in worlds that were cruel to the black woman. Mer deals with the harsh reality of plantation life and the impending slave revolt that secured Haiti its freedom from colonial rule. The author expertly embeds regional history and folklore into Mer's story. An aging Jeanne struggles with securing her future as a courtesan in a world in which her skin color places her at a disadvantage and Meritet journeys from whoredom to sainthood.
This book is full of symbolism (the incorporation of the value, taste, and healing power of salt, etc. throughout the novel is superb). It also has a mystical and esoteric feel to it; the stories are heart wrenching and the characters are memorable. The author embellished a bit at times with the transcendental themes causing lapses that were very vague and abstract; however for those who enjoy heavy, lyrical prose and surreal themes, it is worth picking up. Overall, it is a wonderfully imagined story that dabbles with the supernatural and issues of self-worth, survival, and redemption.
September 12, 2019
Nalo Hopkinson weaves a story of ancestral magic and history in The Salt Roads. A story of three women surviving and persevering in a world that was constructed for the mobility, expression, pleasure and prosperity of men, 'white' men.
Mer, Lemer and Meritet all exist in different times in different places, Saint Domingue, Paris and Alexandria respectively. Each enslaved in the way of their time, Mer on a sugar plantation(healer and midwife), Lemer as a dancer and exotic mistress to poet Charles Baudelaire and Meritet as a prostitute. I love the portrayal of Mer/Tipingee's and Jeanne/Liseth's relationship, how they shifted from lovers to friendship to sisterhood as the situation demanded. I also appreciate the 'normalcy' depicted: among the violence and abuse, the lives that the ancestors were able to carve out for themselves, under these oppressive circumstances speak to strength and resilience.
As Ezili moves through time, inhabiting each woman and experiencing their lives, she attempts to influence them, as they all share a common dream: freedom. But following along with Ezili as she experiences the lives and consciousness of each woman; her yearning for her people, their worship; their's and her freedom; was stirring.
Hopkinson has weaved a strong presence of the gods and goddesses of the enslaved into this tale and with it tells a story of resilience and ritual, as we follow each woman as they endure, fight and persevere in a world that devalues them.
This is a story that features Ezili, she is not the cornerstone, without each woman experiencing the world at a different time, in a different civilization, at its core, this tale would have been less affecting.
The flow of the story might not be for everyone, as for me, the transition from woman to woman across time could have been more smooth, adding to the cohesiveness of the story. The story-line of Meritet felt as if it was just interspersed throughout, while the narratives of Mer and Jeanne carried the story majorily.
Mer, Lemer and Meritet all exist in different times in different places, Saint Domingue, Paris and Alexandria respectively. Each enslaved in the way of their time, Mer on a sugar plantation(healer and midwife), Lemer as a dancer and exotic mistress to poet Charles Baudelaire and Meritet as a prostitute. I love the portrayal of Mer/Tipingee's and Jeanne/Liseth's relationship, how they shifted from lovers to friendship to sisterhood as the situation demanded. I also appreciate the 'normalcy' depicted: among the violence and abuse, the lives that the ancestors were able to carve out for themselves, under these oppressive circumstances speak to strength and resilience.
As Ezili moves through time, inhabiting each woman and experiencing their lives, she attempts to influence them, as they all share a common dream: freedom. But following along with Ezili as she experiences the lives and consciousness of each woman; her yearning for her people, their worship; their's and her freedom; was stirring.
Hopkinson has weaved a strong presence of the gods and goddesses of the enslaved into this tale and with it tells a story of resilience and ritual, as we follow each woman as they endure, fight and persevere in a world that devalues them.
This is a story that features Ezili, she is not the cornerstone, without each woman experiencing the world at a different time, in a different civilization, at its core, this tale would have been less affecting.
The flow of the story might not be for everyone, as for me, the transition from woman to woman across time could have been more smooth, adding to the cohesiveness of the story. The story-line of Meritet felt as if it was just interspersed throughout, while the narratives of Mer and Jeanne carried the story majorily.
May 26, 2022
This book crosses centuries and continents to tell the stories of women of West African descent who are enslaved or otherwise restricted and controlled by white men. We also hear from an Afro-Carribean Goddess of love, desire and hope who sometimes embodies some of the other characters to help them, and sometimes seems to exist nowhere at all.
The scope and ambition of this book is massive and ambitious. I loved the parts set in Haiti but didn't enjoy those set elsewhere as much
I listened to this on audio book which was fantastically narrated by Bahni Turpin but I found all the changing between different voices who were sometimes referred to with different overlapping names and who were sometimes possessed and sometimes not to be quite confusing during the middle. I found my feet eventually but I think I would have benefitted a lot from having a print copy in my hands. There was also a technical problem with the edition I listened to via Scribd where it often cut off the end of sentences which was incredibly frustrating.
The scope and ambition of this book is massive and ambitious. I loved the parts set in Haiti but didn't enjoy those set elsewhere as much
I listened to this on audio book which was fantastically narrated by Bahni Turpin but I found all the changing between different voices who were sometimes referred to with different overlapping names and who were sometimes possessed and sometimes not to be quite confusing during the middle. I found my feet eventually but I think I would have benefitted a lot from having a print copy in my hands. There was also a technical problem with the edition I listened to via Scribd where it often cut off the end of sentences which was incredibly frustrating.
March 21, 2016
An ambitious, sensual novel that... doesn't quite live up to its premise. The intertwining stories of three Black women, all of whom can be read through the lens of an African goddess, are great as three separate narratives - it's the balance of this weave that doesn't work for me and puts me out of mood and immersion rather than into it. For the sake of my own reading experience, I'd re-read the narratives one after another. This way I can appreciate Hopkinson's flowing language and characterization more. I absolutely adore the way she writes imperfect women, the kinds of women society frows upon most often, outcasts, bearing the stigmas of hysteria or witchery, women that may make mistakes but in some deep way are at peace with themselves. Hopkinson's prose is cruel and compassionate at once, immediate as ever. I really wish I could rate this book higher.
September 16, 2018
My first Nalo read, but I need to track down the others so that it won't be my last. This was..... different. Yeah, I'll just go with different. I loved this historical mismatch of sex, goddesses, strong black women, and uprising. I especially love the Caribbean vibes throughout.
September 29, 2019
This book! So rich with Haitian history and African mythology. The novel follows three women and their struggles with love, culture, and bondage in slavery. The text was rich with imagery and thoroughly researched to give a complete picture.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews