SALT: A Confessional Animal Liberation Narrative

by Coyote Jacobs

Painted with color and bold inkwork, SALT is a graphic novel about two men, Silas and Boyd, who liberate a monkey from a vivisection lab. Oslo, the monkey rescued, is based upon a real experiment conducted in 1970 where scientist Robert J. White switched the head of one rhesus macaque onto the body of another. In the real experiment, the monkey died after nine days from immune rejection, but in SALT, Oslo lives and suffers in her new unfamiliar body. We follow Silas, a man whose neurosis makes a grocery store trip feel traumatic, and Boyd, a man whose impulsive nature leads him into precarious situations, as they both attempt, in their own ways, to lead Oslo to a better life.

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2023

Reviews

[veracohle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Through these depictions, we vividly glimpse a nervous system on the verge of breakdown, and experience how loudly alone the life of an animal activist can feel, steeped in excruciating witness of atrocities so abject and perverse, the knowledge of their unrelenting dullness defies sanity. It is a gaslit existence, in which moral wakefulness constantly threatens to transmute from a source of propulsion to poisoned paralysis.”

Thank you for this Coyote. Thank you for carring for the bunnies. Thank you for making a vegan from such a small country feel so seen. My bunny and I will follow your work for literally forever!

[Sarah Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

With visceral illustrations, Coyote Jacobs paints a moving story that illuminates of our relationship with animals. With elements taken directly from a true story of cruel animal treatment, the illustrations and dialogue vibrate with relatable anxiety and pain. This graphic novel leaves the reader with much to reflect on.

[Robin Olson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't get it.

[Rowan T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this is beautifully overwhelming