The Salt Roads

Disclaimer: I received a eARC of this through netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Magic realism is one of my favorite writing genres. I spent a lot of time in college reading Angela Carter's works. Nalo Hopkinson's book expands on the tradition and creates a vivid world where a goddess hops into various women to understand the human conditions of love, oppression, and beating the odds. She weaves the stories of three independent woman from three different timelines in such a way that modern audiences can learn to appreciate what they have gone through.

I loved this storyline. It took me awhile to figure out what tied these three stories together. It was when I discovered the use of the “goddess” voice and went back to the beginning that I really understood what was going on. I found that my favorite tale was in Mer, and in Mari (Mary) and their journeys through enslavement and enlightenment.

This book can be a bit hard to grasp at first. But I recommend you stick with it. Hopkinson will draw you in and you'll be wanting to read parts out loud, the voice and lyrical prose is amazing

Thank you for allowing us into a brilliant glimpse of the human soul, and the oppression that the blacks went through and the stories of the woman who dealt with it.