If I’ve convinced you to read these books, please make sure to check them out from your local library or independent bookshop.
Of Women and Salt - Gabriela Garcia
Of Women and Salt is a multigenerational story, sharing the perspectives of Cuban women from 1866 to 2016. The story begins with María Isabel who works in a cigar factory during the Cuban rebellion against Spanish rule. The microphone is then passed onto María Isabel's descendants, who share their experiences with migration, drugs, misogyny and abuse.
It was a heartbreaking read. Garcia does a great job in telling the story of different generations and how women from each fought bravely against the government, racism, sexism, their husbands and even themselves.
There's a huge story in this novel about generational trauma and how this was a major issue that caused internal ruptures within the family and mother-daughter relationships. It is impossible to break the cycle without speaking to one another about the past and letting go of secrets— communication is key. Other than from reading this novel, I can't speak for Latin American families, but I know it's the case with South Asian migrants. When hard facts are revealed, it is important to discuss rather than hide away from the truth.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed - Mariana Enriquez
This short story collection was full of nightmares: dead babies, ghost children, and flesh-eating teenagers.
Enriquez cleverly used magical realism to deal with the trauma that Argentina had experienced during the Dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s. Many stories in the collection highlighted the "Desaparecidos", referring to the 30,00 people who disappeared during Argentina's Dirty War and Operation Condor. In "Back When We Talked to the Dead", the girls try to use a Ouija board to communicate with their disappeared family members and neighbours. However, they couldn't reach the people they wanted to speak to. The spirits they could communicate with never gave them straight answers about where they'd been killed.
"The thing was that everyone knew Julita's parents hadn't died in any accident: Julita's folks had disappeared. They were disappeared. They'd been disappeared. We didn't really know the right way to say it" (179).
Some stories also highlighted the violence against women and children during this period. For example, in "Kids Who Come Back", missing children reappear in Buenos Aires parks. The children, even babies, didn't age a day, even if they had been missing for years. They still had fresh bruises and even the same clothes from the day they'd disappeared. This was the longest and most terrifying story in the collection — I don't think I've ever been so creeped out by a piece of fiction literature before!
The Giant Dark - Sarvat Hasin
This isn't really a classic romance novel (not a massive fan of romance genre, anyways) but follows Aida and Ehsan's new relationship after reconnecting after ten years.
Aida's life, career and fame have skyrocketed, whilst Ehsan is still in the same place when they broke up ten years prior. The chapters jumped from past and present, giving glimpses of their lives when they first got together and now. I thought it was a fascinating study of both characters, and Hasin showed clearly how they matured with time and how their relationship developed in both past and present.
I loved the characterisation of Aida - her obsession with vampire novels, her relationship with her mum, and her choices in stage costumes. On the other hand, I thought Ehsan was quite boring, which might have been the point. But it was interesting to see both the feelings of obsession and jealousy towards each other at points, especially from Ehsan's point of view, who wasn't as successful as Aida.
Current read: Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree
I’m still reading this life-changing, 800-paged novel. The story follows an eighty-year-old woman who slips into depression after the death of her husband.
I will be writing a full review once I’ve finished, but so far, I’m loving it. Even though I still have around 200 pages left, I genuinely think this is my favourite of all time. Shree pairs beautiful writing with incredible story-writing, which is something I find quite rare. I find that books either have a great storyline with boring writing or vice versa—Shree is able to pair the two in harmony.