Saltus

by Tara Gereaux

Evocative of Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness and Diane Warren’s Cool Water, Tara Gereaux’s novel, set in small-town Saskatchewan, dissects themes of Métis identity, female identity and motherhood, aging and regret, and finally, acceptance.

Nothing ever seems to happen in the small town of Saltus. At the Harvest Gold Inn and Restaurant off Highway 53, two waitresses spend their evening shifts delivering Salisbury steak specials and slices of pie to the regulars. But everything changes when Nadine, a headstrong single mother, and her teenager, Aaron, arrive at the Gold, where Aaron—who has repeatedly been denied appropriate gender-affirming medical care from the mainstream system—undergoes a near-fatal procedure performed by an unqualified and eccentric recluse who lives on the outskirts of Saltus.

The events that transpire that evening force each townsperson to look long and hard at themselves, at their own identities, and at the traumas and experiences that have shaped them. Told from multiple perspectives, Saltus reveals the complexities inherent in accepting the identities of loved ones, and the tragic consequences that unfold if they are ignored. It is a story about relationships with others, and, even more importantly, with ourselves.

Genres: Fiction, Indigenous, Queer, LGBT

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2021

About the author

Tara Gereaux’s debut novel, Saltus, was released in 2021. Her first book, a teen novella called Size of a Fist (Thistledown Press, 2015), was nominated for two 2016 Saskatchewan Book Awards. Her writing has been published in several literary magazines and has won awards, including the City of Regina Writing Award in 2016 and 2019.

After graduating with an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, Tara worked as a story editor and writer in film and television for ten years.

From the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan and of Métis and European heritage, Tara lived in Vancouver for nearly two decades before returning to her home on the prairie. She lives in Regina, SK.

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tara Gereaux' Saltus is a story about the ways in which our inner worlds and our shared outer world conflict as we try to get those on the outside to understand who we truly are.

Aaron is a teenager in Alberta who, those assigned male at birth, knows themself to be a young woman. But growing up in rural Canada in the 90s means doctors and psychiatrists refuse to provide them the medical care and hormones they need to allow for their exterior to match who they are inside. As doctor after doctor denies Aaron care, their mother, Nadine, takes matters into her own hands and links up with a cattle rancher in Saltus, Saskatchewan to get her child gender-affirming care. This decision sends shockwaves through the conservative community and Saltus tracks the lives of these community members - driven by two truck stop waitresses and a police officer - over the course of a few winter days.

Saltus is a compelling, character-driven book that spotlights a mother's love for her transgender child, challenges the notions that all members of a conservative small town are apt to be transphobic, and questions how we can link our inner lives with a shared, outside world. Though at times Gereaux' characters can be shallow, overall her writing is beautiful, suspenseful, and makes it impossible to put this book down (I read it in two days!)

[Judy Monchuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the 1990s, Saltus begins with a mother’s struggle to help her child who is seeking to change genders. But ultimately, it's about how the mother’s efforts impact a handful of people in a small prairie town. The young person at the centre has little voice in the story, suffering largely in silence. This lack of voice is sadly fitting, an echo of the scenario they endured after turning to medical professionals who were ill-prepared to deal with the treatment sought and therefore chose to do nothing.
There is a powerful ache in the pages of this book. The figurative and real stones thrown at those who are different or whose identity does not conform to society’s expectations ring very true. Author Tara Gereaux sketches the characters with compassion, each resigned to the identity they have carved for themselves but wishing for more. It’s hard not to hurt for them. The mother and other characters – two waitresses at a truck stop restaurant/motel, a Mountie on the verge of retirement and an aging farmer – each deal with their own truths, isolation and loneliness as they come to grips with life decisions. The traumatic aftermath of the mother’s efforts force each forward into a new life.

There are a lot of questions left to interpretation. Who is the villain? Who is the hero? The superhero? I wish I felt this was a story so far in the past as to be long ago history but it seems sadly current. It may be set 20 years ago, but I suspect many places are not so different in 2021 for young people struggling with gender identity. Not long before the Covid pandemic, the Alberta government banned high school clubs that would specifically support LGBTQ kids, undoubtedly leaving some feeling more isolated.
Saltus is an impressive debut novel and a powerful read. 3.5 stars

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a trans child who is denied gender-affirming care, and the townsfolk involved. This story explores the convictions we have, the decisions we make, and the choices we have in a such a true, complex, and humanizing way. I almost could not put this down. I'm just a little sad I don't see more people reviewing this.

[Susan Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop reading this book. It is so painful and so beautiful, a story about the courage that love can bring forth and wounded people finding their way. Gereaux nails small town life, my reading was attuned to the pace of a small town; I could hear the characters' voices and each character felt so real. I thought about several of them as I went about my day, they were present to me and I just felt them. The story is based on real events, and knowing this seared the pain of the events deeper in me. For those who are grappling with understanding the experiences of non-binary and trans people be brave and read this book.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful book about a traumatic event, interpreted by a wide variety of characters. Loved the voices of the characters and the details of the story.
There is a lot of ambiguity in the book- and the characters all have a richness. There was also a small town prairie life that I recognized.

Gereaux is a skilled writer with a great knowledge of craft and compassion for her characters. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly timely, with a core story that is heartbreaking and well written. I'd actually put this closer to 3.5 stars...the only thing that holds it back is that a number of the sub-plots aren't quite as impactful to me as the central story of gender identity and bureaucratic interference. The nearly-retired cop Roger is total scumbag -- one hell of a well-drawn example of the banality of evil.

[Carla Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been so submersed in a novel, I couldn’t walk away for an hour without having to pick it up again, flying through back to back. I have immense appreciation for how the author selected the voices to represent from inside those characters & the voice of a young rural person, struggling with access to health care for transition. I can’t recommend this book.

[Sarah Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nature gets things wrong sometimes."

When a transgender person is denied gender affirming care, matters are taken into their own hands. In her debut novel, Saltus, Canadian author Tara Gereaux examines the lives of several characters in a small prairie town, and how they deal with the aftermath of a surgery gone wrong in one of the rooms at the local inn.

This book packed an unexpected punch for me. Not only does this book shine a light on the dire need for gender affirming care to be safely available for those who seek it, but it also touches on some other sensitive subjects as well; motherhood, regret, acceptance.

I loved getting the story from multiple POVs, since each character stood out on their own. I thought Nadine's character was interesting, and found myself questioning what I would do in her shoes. Trish and Lenore, the two waitresses that were working the restaurant that day, so different from each other, yet in some ways very similar. I enjoyed the depth that Gereaux was able to achieve in this book and the characters, especially since it's on the shorter side. I understand completely why the author omitted Aaron's POV, and was thankful for the explanation in the author's note at the beginning. I have a lot of respect for that decision.

Overall, this is a timely novel and one I recommend. I appreciated the author's approach to telling this story.

Thank you to the publisher for a complimentary copy to review and share my honest thoughts.

[Alyisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I started recommending even before I was done reading. The ending didn’t betray me, either! Saltus is the story of a town, and specifically of a single mother who will do anything to acquire gender-affirming care for her child. I think that part of what’s so special about this book (aside from the strong setting and even stronger characters) is what Gereaux does with hope. I don’t even know what verb to use here: “plays with” is wrong for something so earnest; “manipulates” feels even worse, for the same reason. But the author relies upon her reader’s tendency towards hope — and anxiety. Tragedy looms on every page…but you’re ever hopeful that things will turn out alright. For everyone.

A triumph, as far as I’m concerned: supple writing, with graceful and clumsy characters; at once simple, true, and complex.

[Lindy Olafson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to see more Sask authors

I enjoyed the book- quick read. Characters were somewhat shallow. It was difficult to determine the main story line, not overly focused.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book was how the perspectives of different characters varied. Saltus is, by all accounts, a sleepy town. It’s not shaken up often, if at all. I appreciate that this book was as character driven as it was. Though there are several characters followed in this story, I didn’t struggle to differentiate between them as each of their perspectives is so distinct. They have a similar struggle with isolation, but the event that sparks the book causes them all to change in extremely unique ways. There’s a lot to think about in this book. Access to healthcare, motherhood, identity, and transphobia. I wish I had more of the perspective from Erin, the trans youth who served as the catalyst in this story. But I respect that that was intentional on the author’s part. I think the characters could have been further explored, and maybe that there was a bit more confrontation between characters. It felt a little unresolved for me in that regard. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

[Ryley Balon · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this book at my library. I beelined to it. When I picked it up, I didn't know it was an LGBT+ book, but I fell in love with it. The only book that I finished in 2 days that was not 100 pages or less.

I lived in the area that Saltus represents during the time the actual incident happened, and I was still a kid, so I had very little knowledge of what happened. Reading the book, I was able to picture the places in my head when they were mentioned.

This book made actually still shows the desperation that I felt as a transperson in the 2010s in Saskatchewan Healthcare despite being in a city setting. Thankfully, I didn't have to go to such lengths to get care, but it came close. This book had me on such a rollercoaster of highs and lows and swearing and such a wide range of emotions. Simply amazing.

Tara really did her research into everything and it shows in this book. I applaud her for not trying to give Erin a voice

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book asks us to think about to what extent people can decide what’s best for someone else. Also at what age someone can decide what’s best for him or her self. The emphasis is on sex change procedures but there is also a nod to Métis children being raised by non Métis adoptive parents. The author even touches on bullying and homophobia and parenting issues around a perceived lack of “maternal instinct”. I liked that the author recognized she could not write from the perspective of Aaron/Erin and that this made for an incomplete picture but I felt that there was a lack of subtlety in the portrayal of other characters. The medical profession in particular came across as the bad guys, but I think they did have Aaron’s best interests in mind although their information was necessarily incomplete.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really know what it's like to be transgender, but I do my best to understand. And when I read books like this, set in a small town in Canada in the early 90s, I am hopeful that things are at least slightly better now. In an attempt to save her child from suicide, Nadine enlists the help of a small town loner to perform a radical procedure. What follows is an exploration of the ways in which people in town are affected by the incident.
I put off reading the ending for a long time because it could have gone in several terrible directions. Luckily, I was treated to an outcome that was mostly satisfying, if not entirely realistic given the circumstances.

[Harry Junior · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, gritty. A finely rendered story of identity and humanity and a fractured world capable of healing and change. Gereaux's quiet, direct prose cultivates tenderness and care for her characters, even at their most conflicted moments. She delves into layers of conflict and trauma, but never exploits these moments for the sake of their inherent spectacle.

Instead, she writes of generational wounds and prejudices and deep sorrows with threads of hope that make her story both compelling and relevant. I deeply enjoyed this book.

[Joanne Mcleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and the stories of each person wove together as if they were destined to be intertwined from the very beginning.
Also a wonderful aspect is to have the creative and skilled author not only be Canadian but also local. To understand the small town prairie mentality gives her an expertise to speak to events that are created in large part by one’s environment.

[Alexis Armit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit random in the sense that a book with such an important storyline gets sidetracked on other issues that should have been more important (Métis Heritage, adoptions, miscarriages). I felt this clouded the storyline. Loved all of the characters - even the ones I couldn’t stand. A testament to the ends that a mother will go to when under pressure to protect her kids.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching, beautiful, hopeful. This got right into my heart and pulled all the strings. Set in small-town rural Canada in the 1990s, this short novel delves deeply into a set of characters linked by their connections to a teen denied gender-affirming care. It’s a quiet story exploring discomfort and transition and sometimes surprising connections—some fleeting, but all transformative. I loved this. It will likely end up on my best-of this year!