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Salt and Skin
‘Until recently, there had been four of them. Unspeaking, the three remaining Managans lugged their bags into Ewan’s waiting car. Luda and her children were not staying in the ghost house on Seannay that first night. The window broken in the storm must first be fixed. Living on the islands means being in constant conversation with the wind; negotiating where it will and will not go.
The Managans do not know this yet. It is a lesson they will begin to learn a week later, watching the cliff collapse into the sea.’
Luda, a photographer, and her two teenagers arrive in the Scottish Northern Isles to make a new life. Everywhere the past shimmers to the surface; the shifting landscapes and wild weather dominates; the line between reality and the uncanny seems thin here. The teenagers forge connections, making friends of neighbours, discovering both longing and dangerous compulsions. But their mother – fallible, obsessive, distracted – comes up hard against suspicion. The persecution and violence that drove the island’s historic witch trials still simmers today, in isolated homes and church buildings, and where folklore and fact intertwine.
A compelling and magically immersive novel about a family on the edge and a community ensnared by history, that gathers to an unforgettable ending.
The Managans do not know this yet. It is a lesson they will begin to learn a week later, watching the cliff collapse into the sea.’
Luda, a photographer, and her two teenagers arrive in the Scottish Northern Isles to make a new life. Everywhere the past shimmers to the surface; the shifting landscapes and wild weather dominates; the line between reality and the uncanny seems thin here. The teenagers forge connections, making friends of neighbours, discovering both longing and dangerous compulsions. But their mother – fallible, obsessive, distracted – comes up hard against suspicion. The persecution and violence that drove the island’s historic witch trials still simmers today, in isolated homes and church buildings, and where folklore and fact intertwine.
A compelling and magically immersive novel about a family on the edge and a community ensnared by history, that gathers to an unforgettable ending.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
44 people are currently reading
1425 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
April 20, 2023
I will describe this book as atmospheric set in Scotland on an island called Seannay which holds many secrets including a folklore of witches being seen here years earlier, beautifully written which deals with relationships, witch hunts grief & climate change.
Now let’s continue with the characters Luda is a journalist who with her two children escape to the island 🏝️ off the coast of Scotland, where she was taking pictures for an article on climate change, she gets offside with the locals as she took photos of a dead girl.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? You may ask I am not telling but was a haunting novel that I loved the characters flawed was exquisitely written a solid 4 ⭐️.
Now let’s continue with the characters Luda is a journalist who with her two children escape to the island 🏝️ off the coast of Scotland, where she was taking pictures for an article on climate change, she gets offside with the locals as she took photos of a dead girl.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? You may ask I am not telling but was a haunting novel that I loved the characters flawed was exquisitely written a solid 4 ⭐️.
September 10, 2022
I didn't even know Eliza Henry-Jones had a new novel out when I noticed the audiobook in Libby. I read and enjoyed all her novels, so obviously, I had to download it.
I went into Salt and Skin without even bothering to read the blurb.
The lyrical writing grabbed me early on. Its main characters, Luda, a recently widowed mother and her two teenage kids, beautiful Darcy and his sister, Min, are grieving, flawed, moody and baffled.
The kids are begrudging their mother for taking them from their small rural community in Australia to some remote Scottish island so that she could document the effects of climate change via her photography.
Their mother commits a major digression when she publishes some photos of a recently deceased young girl, which makes the locals very unhappy and alienates them even further. Slowly, they are being accepted in the community. Relationships are forged, deep friendships, camaraderie, amorous and so on.
This novel had quite a few themes and threads which made it feel slightly unfocused at times. Life is or can be like that, so I didn't mind it too much.
Climate change, witch-hunts, grief, forgiveness, relationships, and finding your place are some of the many themes in this atmospheric novel.
I went into Salt and Skin without even bothering to read the blurb.
The lyrical writing grabbed me early on. Its main characters, Luda, a recently widowed mother and her two teenage kids, beautiful Darcy and his sister, Min, are grieving, flawed, moody and baffled.
The kids are begrudging their mother for taking them from their small rural community in Australia to some remote Scottish island so that she could document the effects of climate change via her photography.
Their mother commits a major digression when she publishes some photos of a recently deceased young girl, which makes the locals very unhappy and alienates them even further. Slowly, they are being accepted in the community. Relationships are forged, deep friendships, camaraderie, amorous and so on.
This novel had quite a few themes and threads which made it feel slightly unfocused at times. Life is or can be like that, so I didn't mind it too much.
Climate change, witch-hunts, grief, forgiveness, relationships, and finding your place are some of the many themes in this atmospheric novel.
September 12, 2022
Although this author has been on my radar for a while, this new release is the first of her novels I've read, and I was impressed. It's good to know I have a few to catch up on, including one she originally wrote as a teenager! In terms of themes, I understand Salt and Skin continues to explore many that have coloured her previous books including climate, family, grief and trauma, but I'm in no position to speculate on whether there are also thematic departures here.
What I do know is that the setting - the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland - is something new. And it was the setting (ok, plus a ticket to see the author at MWF22 alongside Hannah Kent) that compelled me to plunge into this book. The islands, along with their literally larger-than-life weather system, were described so beautifully and in such detail, that despite the harshness, the cold, the wind... of course I want to experience them for myself! It came as no surprise to learn that the author took a winter holiday there and found the spark for this enthralling story in the centuries-old kirk in the main town. Recommended.
What I do know is that the setting - the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland - is something new. And it was the setting (ok, plus a ticket to see the author at MWF22 alongside Hannah Kent) that compelled me to plunge into this book. The islands, along with their literally larger-than-life weather system, were described so beautifully and in such detail, that despite the harshness, the cold, the wind... of course I want to experience them for myself! It came as no surprise to learn that the author took a winter holiday there and found the spark for this enthralling story in the centuries-old kirk in the main town. Recommended.
March 17, 2023
Salt and Skin is a contemporary literary fiction by Australian author Eliza Henry-Jones and is longlisted for the 2023 Indie Book Award.
Widowed Luda Managan and her two teenage children, Darcy and Min, move to Seannay island in the Orkneys in Scotland. Luda works as a photographer, raising awareness about environmental issues. Publishing a photo of a child taken in the moments before her death in a landslide turns the locals against Luda and repercusses through the story. The children soon befriend Theo, the mysterious, luminous foundling who washed up on the island years before with webbing between his fingers. The islanders believe he is a selkie.
The story began very well and I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Theo and also the mystery of why some of the islanders have a kind of sight that reveals the hidden scars on the skin of anyone on Seannay. There is also a storyline involving the historical witch trials on the Orkneys. The women who were killed were accused of communicating with the whales. Then there are the mysterious witch marks on the walls of the ghost house, protective engravings on the walls. There were so many fascinating facets to the story but sadly all of these tantalizing titbits are thrown out to lure the unsuspecting reader in, only to leave you frustrated and annoyed when halfway through it degenerates into a slow, ponderous, indulgent treatise on the awkward relationships between the family, and also Theo. None of the mysteries are concluded, none of the storylines actually go anywhere, and the ambivalent ending was an anticlimax to say the least. Even the same-sex romance that was presumably meant to be slow burn eventually just became frustrating. My favourite character was aunt Casandra, but even her story was not fleshed out and explained. The priest was a dangerous misogynist, and somehow a story that sets out to be empowering to women isn’t really.
The audiobook accents were brilliant. The first half of the book was a four to five star read, the second half probably two stars at best, so overall I’m going with three stars, but almost reluctantly, as the writer clearly has the skill to set out a great story, so why did she leave us high and dry?
Widowed Luda Managan and her two teenage children, Darcy and Min, move to Seannay island in the Orkneys in Scotland. Luda works as a photographer, raising awareness about environmental issues. Publishing a photo of a child taken in the moments before her death in a landslide turns the locals against Luda and repercusses through the story. The children soon befriend Theo, the mysterious, luminous foundling who washed up on the island years before with webbing between his fingers. The islanders believe he is a selkie.
The story began very well and I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Theo and also the mystery of why some of the islanders have a kind of sight that reveals the hidden scars on the skin of anyone on Seannay. There is also a storyline involving the historical witch trials on the Orkneys. The women who were killed were accused of communicating with the whales. Then there are the mysterious witch marks on the walls of the ghost house, protective engravings on the walls. There were so many fascinating facets to the story but sadly all of these tantalizing titbits are thrown out to lure the unsuspecting reader in, only to leave you frustrated and annoyed when halfway through it degenerates into a slow, ponderous, indulgent treatise on the awkward relationships between the family, and also Theo. None of the mysteries are concluded, none of the storylines actually go anywhere, and the ambivalent ending was an anticlimax to say the least. Even the same-sex romance that was presumably meant to be slow burn eventually just became frustrating. My favourite character was aunt Casandra, but even her story was not fleshed out and explained. The priest was a dangerous misogynist, and somehow a story that sets out to be empowering to women isn’t really.
The audiobook accents were brilliant. The first half of the book was a four to five star read, the second half probably two stars at best, so overall I’m going with three stars, but almost reluctantly, as the writer clearly has the skill to set out a great story, so why did she leave us high and dry?
September 17, 2023
A recently widowed passionate photographer and her two teenage children come all the way from Australia to a small island in the Orkny Archipelago, off the coast of Scotland. There is not much left for them in Australia and Luda - the photographer, has received an assignment to photograph the degradation of the island’s coast.
They find the inhabitants of the island a close community, dominated by the local kirk priest and the Council under his leadership. The island is by the way a place where they long ago used to prosecute women as witches for the crime of “calling whales”. The Council decides to assign the newcomers an accommodation in the so called “Ghost house” where there are “which-marks” carved into its stone walls as a protection against evil.
I realize that what I wrote might sound as a setting for a horror story, which it is not. But the author seems to not quite decided what kind of book she wanted to write, so it is ready to become a Gothic mystery, ghost story or eco-thriller but in the end it is just a family drama. The Managans are the outsiders, whom the community sees per definition as strange and suspicious so their new life is not without challenges. But as the time passes they build relationships find their local allies, and grow into the community setting unlikely roots in this stony place.
There is also a strange absence of happiness in this book - grief in all shapes and sizes is the theme and yet I hesitate to say this because you might think that this is a book that might take you to some dark and depressing place. But it is not, it is thoughtful and kind and it is definitely worth reading!
They find the inhabitants of the island a close community, dominated by the local kirk priest and the Council under his leadership. The island is by the way a place where they long ago used to prosecute women as witches for the crime of “calling whales”. The Council decides to assign the newcomers an accommodation in the so called “Ghost house” where there are “which-marks” carved into its stone walls as a protection against evil.
I realize that what I wrote might sound as a setting for a horror story, which it is not. But the author seems to not quite decided what kind of book she wanted to write, so it is ready to become a Gothic mystery, ghost story or eco-thriller but in the end it is just a family drama. The Managans are the outsiders, whom the community sees per definition as strange and suspicious so their new life is not without challenges. But as the time passes they build relationships find their local allies, and grow into the community setting unlikely roots in this stony place.
There is also a strange absence of happiness in this book - grief in all shapes and sizes is the theme and yet I hesitate to say this because you might think that this is a book that might take you to some dark and depressing place. But it is not, it is thoughtful and kind and it is definitely worth reading!
September 6, 2023
An initially promising narrative was drowned in a sea of overblown prose. The author is so enthralled with her characters—so preoccupied with documenting their every melodramatic move and mood, romanticized look and sigh—that she’s quite forgotten that it’s actually her job to maintain readers’ interest in them. Wow, was this ever dreadful.
August 10, 2022
Salt and Skin, the latest novel by Eliza Henry-Jones, is a triumph. A delicate balance of fury and tenderness, a vision of raw pain and passion. I am a huge fan of Eliza’s work and have read all her previous novels to date, so I already knew the extent of her talent, yet, even I felt blown away by this one. The way she writes, what she does with words, I can’t even begin to articulate the aching beauty of her prose. She makes you feel so intensely, everything about everyone all at once. She is such a unique talent.
Salt and Skin is predominantly a novel about grief and the deep complexities of the human soul. It’s also a novel of love, of regret, of hope, of history, of women, of prejudice, of resistance. I didn’t feel that any one character was the main character within this novel, but rather, the place was the main character, and all those who inhabited it had an equal weigh in upon the narrative. I was deeply affected by the connection between Darcy and Theo, captivated by Min’s strength, devastated by Luda’s destiny.
I loved the paranormal undercurrent within this novel, the way in which history informed the present, the unexplained woven tightly into the narrative. Climate change is the driving force behind this story, the extremes of weather we are facing and the global consequences of continued resistance to the acceptance that the planet is changing, places are becoming uninhabitable. This side of the story was deeply affecting and powerful in its intent.
Salt and Skin is, and will remain, one of my top reads for this year. It is nothing short of magnificent. Highly recommended to all readers.
Salt and Skin is predominantly a novel about grief and the deep complexities of the human soul. It’s also a novel of love, of regret, of hope, of history, of women, of prejudice, of resistance. I didn’t feel that any one character was the main character within this novel, but rather, the place was the main character, and all those who inhabited it had an equal weigh in upon the narrative. I was deeply affected by the connection between Darcy and Theo, captivated by Min’s strength, devastated by Luda’s destiny.
I loved the paranormal undercurrent within this novel, the way in which history informed the present, the unexplained woven tightly into the narrative. Climate change is the driving force behind this story, the extremes of weather we are facing and the global consequences of continued resistance to the acceptance that the planet is changing, places are becoming uninhabitable. This side of the story was deeply affecting and powerful in its intent.
Salt and Skin is, and will remain, one of my top reads for this year. It is nothing short of magnificent. Highly recommended to all readers.
July 6, 2023
(3.5) I was drawn to Henry-Jones’s fifth novel by the setting: the remote (fictional) island of Seannay in the Orkneys. It tells the dark, intriguing story of an Australian family lured in by magic and motivated by environmentalism. History overshadows the present as they come to realize that witch hunts are not just a thing of the past. This was exactly the right evocative reading for me to take on my trip to some other Scottish islands late last month. The setup reminded me of The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel, while the novel as a whole is reminiscent of The Night Ship by Jess Kidd and Night Waking by Sarah Moss.
Only a week after the Managans – photographer Luda, son Darcy, 16, and daughter Min, 14 – arrive on the island, they witness a hideous accident. A sudden rockfall crushes a little girl, and Luda happens to have captured it all. The photos fulfill her task of documenting how climate change is affecting the islands, but she earns the locals’ opprobrium for allowing them to be published. It’s not the family’s first brush with disaster. The kids’ father died recently; whether in an accident or by suicide is unclear. Nor is it the first time Luda’s camera has gotten her into trouble. Darcy is still angry at her for selling a photograph she took of him in a dry dam years before, even though it raised a lot of money and awareness about drought.
The family live in what has long been known as “the ghost house,” and hints of magic soon seep in. Luda’s archaeologist colleague wants to study the “witch marks” at the house, and Darcy is among the traumatized individuals who can see others’ invisible scars. Their fate becomes tied to that of Theo, a young man who washed up on the shore ten years ago as a web-fingered foundling rumoured to be a selkie. Luda becomes obsessed with studying the history of the island’s witches, who were said to lure in whales. Min collects marine rubbish on her deep dives, learning to hold her breath for improbable periods. And Darcy fixates on Theo, who also attracts the interest of a researcher seeking to write a book about his origins.
It’s striking how Henry-Jones juxtaposes the current and realistic with the timeless and mystical. While the climate crisis is important to the framework, it fades into the background as the novel continues, with the focus shifting to the insularity of communities and outlooks. All of the characters are memorable, including the Managans’ elderly relative, Cassandra (calling to mind a prophetic figure from Greek mythology), though I found Father Lee, the meddlesome priest, aligned too readily with clichés. While the plot starts to become overwrought in later chapters, I appreciated the bold exploration of grief and discrimination, the sensitive attention to issues such as addiction and domestic violence, and the frank depictions of a gay relationship and an ace character. I wouldn’t call this a cheerful read by any means, but its brooding atmosphere will stick with me. I’d be keen to read more from Henry-Jones.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Only a week after the Managans – photographer Luda, son Darcy, 16, and daughter Min, 14 – arrive on the island, they witness a hideous accident. A sudden rockfall crushes a little girl, and Luda happens to have captured it all. The photos fulfill her task of documenting how climate change is affecting the islands, but she earns the locals’ opprobrium for allowing them to be published. It’s not the family’s first brush with disaster. The kids’ father died recently; whether in an accident or by suicide is unclear. Nor is it the first time Luda’s camera has gotten her into trouble. Darcy is still angry at her for selling a photograph she took of him in a dry dam years before, even though it raised a lot of money and awareness about drought.
The family live in what has long been known as “the ghost house,” and hints of magic soon seep in. Luda’s archaeologist colleague wants to study the “witch marks” at the house, and Darcy is among the traumatized individuals who can see others’ invisible scars. Their fate becomes tied to that of Theo, a young man who washed up on the shore ten years ago as a web-fingered foundling rumoured to be a selkie. Luda becomes obsessed with studying the history of the island’s witches, who were said to lure in whales. Min collects marine rubbish on her deep dives, learning to hold her breath for improbable periods. And Darcy fixates on Theo, who also attracts the interest of a researcher seeking to write a book about his origins.
It’s striking how Henry-Jones juxtaposes the current and realistic with the timeless and mystical. While the climate crisis is important to the framework, it fades into the background as the novel continues, with the focus shifting to the insularity of communities and outlooks. All of the characters are memorable, including the Managans’ elderly relative, Cassandra (calling to mind a prophetic figure from Greek mythology), though I found Father Lee, the meddlesome priest, aligned too readily with clichés. While the plot starts to become overwrought in later chapters, I appreciated the bold exploration of grief and discrimination, the sensitive attention to issues such as addiction and domestic violence, and the frank depictions of a gay relationship and an ace character. I wouldn’t call this a cheerful read by any means, but its brooding atmosphere will stick with me. I’d be keen to read more from Henry-Jones.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
January 10, 2023
4.5 Stars
Longlisted for the 2023 Indie Book Award.
It is said that some people can see the scars of people who step onto the island of Seannay, a tiny remote Scottish Island in the Orkney archipelago. The scars illuminated like phosphorescence of the sea. Not everybody, only people with “the sight”. Luda sees the scars clearly.
Luda Managan, with her teenage children Min and Darcy, has moved to the tiny island to photograph and document the effects of climate change and the damage it is wreaking on the islands.
They live in the only habitable house on the island, the “ghost” house. Witch marks abound around the house. The marks are found inside and out, on the ceiling, surrounding doorways and windows. Are they meant to ward off evil or do they serve another nefarious purpose?
Years ago in the seventeenth century, the history books tell of a number of women who were executed on the island as witches, and an eerie atmosphere covers the island. Do the marks have something to do with the witches and their executions?
The damage caused by climate change is witnessed by the family as soon as they arrive at the island. Erosion causes a landslide from a cliff face which tragically kills a young child. Luda photographs the accident and the grief-stricken mother. It is her job to take these photos, but when Luda publishes them, the locals are shocked with her lack of decency and concern for the mother. The backlash virtually ostracizes Luda from the first day.
This is not the first time Luda has published a questionable photo. Back in Australia she photographed her own son lying in the bed of a dried-up dam. The photo was to show the devastating effects of a drought, but it also proved devastating for her son whose face and misery became public property. The photograph almost severing Luda and Darcy’s relationship.
Shades of the supernatural pervade the book in the form of a boy, Theo, who was found washed up on the shores many years ago. Rumors swirl around his origin. Some locals believe him to be a Selkie, a mythological creature that looks like a seal, but sheds its skin on land. The webbing that grows between Theo’s fingers only add to the town’s gossip and hearsay. Then there is Min, who can dive underwater to impossible depths and hold her breath longer than any human should be able to. She seems at home in the water.
Theo is the highlight of the book for me. He is a boy without an origin. Not knowing where he came from, he feels he does not belong with the islanders. When Darcy shows him childhood photos, Theo becomes obsessed, his feelings for Darcy powerful and overwhelming. He despises the webbing between his fingers, slicing away at them with scissors. He numbs his pain with alcohol. He does not attend school and can neither read nor write. He is cloaked in ambiguity and the supernatural.
In fact, the three teenagers of the novel are the focal points for the narrative. Most of the story is told from their perspective.
So many themes are explored in this novel, climate change, isolation, self-harm and bullying. Ethics and morality. The intense power of first love. Religion and witchcraft. And grief, so much grief. But it all comes together beautifully. I have heard great things about “In the Quiet”. After reading this, it is on my list.
June 17, 2022
Beautiful, evocative and engaging, this is my favourite book of the year so far.
November 25, 2024
This is my first book by Aussie writer Eliza Henry-Jones and her fifth. Although the family at the centre of the story came from Australia, the entire book takes place on a remote Scottish island.
The setting and the vivid characters in this novel bring it alive. Luda leaves Australia when her husband dies and their farm becomes unviable due to drought. Her children Darcy and Min are very different to say the least and their time on the island is full of many things. I certainly will be reading more books by the author as I enjoyed this challenging novel very much. 4 stars
The setting and the vivid characters in this novel bring it alive. Luda leaves Australia when her husband dies and their farm becomes unviable due to drought. Her children Darcy and Min are very different to say the least and their time on the island is full of many things. I certainly will be reading more books by the author as I enjoyed this challenging novel very much. 4 stars
September 15, 2022
The ending was disappointing
December 22, 2022
This novel seemed intriguing and started out well with the possibility of interesting characters and themes but the author lost focus and went for cheap thrills. The relationship between Darcy and Theo became a cliche and gratuitous and really very boring. The language changed course and became more pedantic and less lyrical. The press on this book is misleading. It has very little to do with women. In fact women merely become a backdrop for a gay romance. The dark history of the island is never really explored or explained. It’s a set up that never comes to fruition. I was disappointed by the read. The ocean may be deep but this book isn’t, although it tries to be.
August 4, 2022
I've only read one of Eliza Henry-Jones's previous novels, Ache, and I loved it. It was beautifully written. Her latest Salt and Skin is no different. Her way with words is exquisite. Her prose stunningly eloquent. I already know I'll have trouble writing this review, uncertain I can do her talent justice.
Despite references to witches and selkies (both outside my usual reading comfort zone), much of this book is simply the story of a family who've undergone a tragedy and are trying to heal. The Managan family (Luda, Darcy and Min) left Australia for Scotland and Henry-Jones does a beautiful job at painting the bleak but beautiful island/s the family now call home and the impacts climate change is having.
Henry shocks readers from a comfortable reverie two-thirds of the way through this novel. It's on purpose I realise, but the pacing changes... after. Henry-Jones starts offering snippets. Excerpts almost. Brief dips into events and times. It picked up the pace dramatically but felt almost rushed.
But... despite all of that I was captivated. Enchanted. Completely undone by Henry-Jones's beautiful writing and by the characters I'd come to love.
Henry-Jones is truly a talent. Her writing is masterful. I cannot fathom how someone can weld words in a way that makes you want to sit with them. Hold them to you. Keep them as your own.
4.5 stars
Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
Despite references to witches and selkies (both outside my usual reading comfort zone), much of this book is simply the story of a family who've undergone a tragedy and are trying to heal. The Managan family (Luda, Darcy and Min) left Australia for Scotland and Henry-Jones does a beautiful job at painting the bleak but beautiful island/s the family now call home and the impacts climate change is having.
Henry shocks readers from a comfortable reverie two-thirds of the way through this novel. It's on purpose I realise, but the pacing changes... after. Henry-Jones starts offering snippets. Excerpts almost. Brief dips into events and times. It picked up the pace dramatically but felt almost rushed.
But... despite all of that I was captivated. Enchanted. Completely undone by Henry-Jones's beautiful writing and by the characters I'd come to love.
Henry-Jones is truly a talent. Her writing is masterful. I cannot fathom how someone can weld words in a way that makes you want to sit with them. Hold them to you. Keep them as your own.
4.5 stars
Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
September 26, 2022
Based off the synopsis alone, I was so sure that I would love this book. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t fall in love with it as I had expected. The writing is stunning – it is atmospheric and lyrical and poetic, and I loved how the author evoked such a strong sense of place. The comparisons to Charlotte McConaghy are spot on – they both have a similarly ethereal way of writing. I was mesmerised by the writing from the beginning.
But while I loved the writing, the plot started feeling a little disconnected towards the middle and by the end I was a little confused about where the central storyline was going. I loved the coming of age story that both Min and Darcy worked through, and I loved Luda, but I wanted more of her, and I wanted more of her investigation into the local “witches”. That storyline was so interesting but then it just didn’t really go anywhere. I almost felt like the first half and the second half were different books, and I much preferred the first half to the second. I wanted more of the eco-warrior storyline. I also felt the ending was very sudden and I didn’t love the ambiguity.
Despite all that, I found this to be an engaging read and the writing was spectacular.
This book was kindly gifted to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Follow me on instagram for more: www.instagram.com/Katie.reads.things
But while I loved the writing, the plot started feeling a little disconnected towards the middle and by the end I was a little confused about where the central storyline was going. I loved the coming of age story that both Min and Darcy worked through, and I loved Luda, but I wanted more of her, and I wanted more of her investigation into the local “witches”. That storyline was so interesting but then it just didn’t really go anywhere. I almost felt like the first half and the second half were different books, and I much preferred the first half to the second. I wanted more of the eco-warrior storyline. I also felt the ending was very sudden and I didn’t love the ambiguity.
Despite all that, I found this to be an engaging read and the writing was spectacular.
This book was kindly gifted to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Follow me on instagram for more: www.instagram.com/Katie.reads.things
July 10, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up. Recently widowed Luda and her two teenage children, Darcy and Min, arrive on the remote Scottish tidal island of Seannay, to start again. Coming from Australia, the change in climate is dramatic but there are also similarities. The wild beauty in both magnificent and startling and the water always inviting, no matter the temperature. While Luda starts to capture the island with her camera, Darcy and Min slowly get to know the locals. This is a small community, everyone knows everyone but there are still ghosts lurking. And then there is Theo…
This is such an incredibly atmospheric and evocative story. You’ll feel the magic on this island - as the waves smash your face you’ll taste the sea and salt. You’ll see long forgotten scars of the past and you’ll remember every one.
It’s a tale of witchcraft, selkies and spells. It’s a tale of teenage awkwardness and angst. It’s a tale of people trying to find their way home.
Beautiful, ethereal and moving, this is one to savour.
This is such an incredibly atmospheric and evocative story. You’ll feel the magic on this island - as the waves smash your face you’ll taste the sea and salt. You’ll see long forgotten scars of the past and you’ll remember every one.
It’s a tale of witchcraft, selkies and spells. It’s a tale of teenage awkwardness and angst. It’s a tale of people trying to find their way home.
Beautiful, ethereal and moving, this is one to savour.
September 16, 2022
Given how much I read, I don't rate books so poorly too often.
But, despite ploughing on for well over 30% on my ereader, this is getting the flick. I don't like her writing style, which doesn't seem to flow - either in style or in the story line, where odd bits and pieces just bob up with little or no prior reference. Or major story threads that just dangle -like the death of the husband back in Australia, and why Ludo would choose that as a good time to uproot two teenage children from all they know and all their friends and supports to go to a weird, remote Scottish island.
I'm interested in the witch trials and would have like to know more, but can no longer be bothered.
It's too much nonsense as far as I'm concerned.
But, despite ploughing on for well over 30% on my ereader, this is getting the flick. I don't like her writing style, which doesn't seem to flow - either in style or in the story line, where odd bits and pieces just bob up with little or no prior reference. Or major story threads that just dangle -like the death of the husband back in Australia, and why Ludo would choose that as a good time to uproot two teenage children from all they know and all their friends and supports to go to a weird, remote Scottish island.
I'm interested in the witch trials and would have like to know more, but can no longer be bothered.
It's too much nonsense as far as I'm concerned.
March 3, 2023
Let’s start with the good, the setting was beautifully created. The opening chapters were ethereal and captivating. The hints of urban fantasy were there. I was interested. And then it turned into a fizzer.
I don’t think this book knew what it wanted to be. It read like fleshed out ideas not a cohesive story. There were 4 main-ish protagonists all with unrealised story arcs. Those main characters were all minor characters in each others stories. None were realised enough to be a character I could enjoy learning & understanding, like them or not. The lack of main protagonist and swapping between characters made for choppy reading.
The author was going for slow burn. All I got was slow. I think they were trying for evocative rhythm in the prose. If “Where the Crawdads sing” demonstrates the ebb and flow of writing mirroring the watery setting executed well, then this book was a karaoke homage. I got the reference but that’s where the comparison ends.
After some dreamy, airy-fairy writing it ended in an unsatisfying way.
I don’t think this book knew what it wanted to be. It read like fleshed out ideas not a cohesive story. There were 4 main-ish protagonists all with unrealised story arcs. Those main characters were all minor characters in each others stories. None were realised enough to be a character I could enjoy learning & understanding, like them or not. The lack of main protagonist and swapping between characters made for choppy reading.
The author was going for slow burn. All I got was slow. I think they were trying for evocative rhythm in the prose. If “Where the Crawdads sing” demonstrates the ebb and flow of writing mirroring the watery setting executed well, then this book was a karaoke homage. I got the reference but that’s where the comparison ends.
After some dreamy, airy-fairy writing it ended in an unsatisfying way.
January 27, 2023
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Dreamy, mystical, poetic, but then I started to lose interest in it.
The middle section became an exploration on repetitive melancholic meandering. The same conversations and scenes playing out over and over and over again. Full of vague, painful, elusive dialogue;
"Darcy.. I just..."
"Min, don't... I.. just don't"
"But Darcy... I didn't.."
"Min, No.. No... I just.."
And the relationship between Theo and Darcy. On again off again, more times than a naughty toddler flicking a light switch. Frustrating at best.
Although I became bored, I could still appreciate the slow interesting writing style. I just wish there were more resolutions throughout the story, and proper conversations.
The middle section became an exploration on repetitive melancholic meandering. The same conversations and scenes playing out over and over and over again. Full of vague, painful, elusive dialogue;
"Darcy.. I just..."
"Min, don't... I.. just don't"
"But Darcy... I didn't.."
"Min, No.. No... I just.."
And the relationship between Theo and Darcy. On again off again, more times than a naughty toddler flicking a light switch. Frustrating at best.
Although I became bored, I could still appreciate the slow interesting writing style. I just wish there were more resolutions throughout the story, and proper conversations.
July 31, 2022
Reading this book is a truly immersive experience, one I was gutted had to come to an end!
There's a haunting quality to this book that will stay with me for a long time. The writing is truly beautiful - vivid, engrossing and unputdownable. I connected with each and every character through every good - and bad! - choice they made. Min in particular was a favourite of mine, with her character development one I connected with.
The setting of the islands is almost a character, one that adds atmosphere, jeopardy and intrigue throughout the book. I was fascinated by the history on the island, the witches and the marking in the ghost house.
One of the main things I loved about this book was how it unashamedly tackled some really big issues - grief, climate change, first love, difficult family relationships.
A huge thank you to Ultimo Press for the chance to read an advance copy of this truly beautiful book, one I will be recommending to everyone.
There's a haunting quality to this book that will stay with me for a long time. The writing is truly beautiful - vivid, engrossing and unputdownable. I connected with each and every character through every good - and bad! - choice they made. Min in particular was a favourite of mine, with her character development one I connected with.
The setting of the islands is almost a character, one that adds atmosphere, jeopardy and intrigue throughout the book. I was fascinated by the history on the island, the witches and the marking in the ghost house.
One of the main things I loved about this book was how it unashamedly tackled some really big issues - grief, climate change, first love, difficult family relationships.
A huge thank you to Ultimo Press for the chance to read an advance copy of this truly beautiful book, one I will be recommending to everyone.
January 26, 2023
I was thinking this book is like being in a dream; selkies, witches, grief, climate change, ambition, wild weather..but it was more like being in someone’s dream. It’s beautiful writing, beautiful imagery, I completely loved it.
February 19, 2023
3.25 stars. I struggled😭 I just don’t that this book is what it was advertised as. Too much flowery language, not enough witches.
December 30, 2022
This started well. And then died. Honestly I was forcing myself to read it after Theo started getting all violent. It got ..boring. NOTHING was happening, just a bunch of angsty teenagers being all angst ridden. Not sure what everyone was raving about. Would have worked better as a short story, to be brutally honest. Oh, and if you're looking for a book that recognises women in history, this ain't it. Women fade out to supporting characters in this story. Ironically this author writes about women exactly like a male author does. Every. Single. Tired. Trope.
October 6, 2022
I loved the themes of this story, felt so proud of the incident with the bags of rubbish in the pub I had to tell my family about it like she was my own kid. Feel like it went on a bit though. Too much writing not enough action
July 20, 2023
The setting is what first attracted me to this novel. The remote (fictional) tidal island of Seannay in the Orkneys of northern Scotland.
Australian photo-journalist Luda Managan has been recently widowed. In order to make a new life for herself and her two teenage children she travels to the Orkney Islands to document the effects of climate change on the landscape there. Coastal erosion has become a huge problem on the islands. Shortly after the Managans arrive on the islands they are witness to a terrible accident when a coastal cliff falls and kills a young child. A quirk of fate ascertained that Luda captured this dreadful event with her camera. Luda publishes these photos as being a prime example of the perilous consequences of coastal erosion and global warming - much to the censure of the local residents.
Luda tries so valiantly to not be a 'helicopter parent' that she becomes distanced from her two children. She is facing the quandary of parenting teenagers while realizing that they are both grieving, and the guilt that she has taken them away Australia and everything and everyone they ever knew.
Luda is branded as a witch by some of the locals which causes her to investigate the history of witches on the island. The house where the Managans are living is called the 'ghost house', the only residence still habitable among many on the tiny island of Seannay. This house was where four women had lived centuries before who were later killed for being 'witches'.
The Managan's story takes place over the first three years that they live in the Orkneys and is a tale of light and dark, good and evil, salt and skin. Of the attempt of broken people to heal... Of accidents, fate, scars and storms.
This novel is much more than an environmentalist story. It speaks to the insularity of island communities with their rich history and superstition at the forefront. The narrative was atmospheric in a rather eerie and melancholy way. It presents a unique juxtaposition of social commentary with history and magical realism. It encompasses themes of grief, loss, journalist integrity, myth, folklore, and magic.
I came to really care for the characters while reading "Salt & Skin". It was an eloquently told story that ultimately spoke to the many varied ways we can love.
I loved the scenes that featured Luda's aged relative Cassandra. She seemed imminently wise. I abhorred the scenes that featured the interfering and devious priest, Father Lee.
Luda's two teenage children were the stars of the story in my opinion. Min who is grieving for her late father and bereft of her friends who now live on the opposite side of the world. Darcy, who feels betrayed by his mother and is frighteningly intelligent and brooding.
And then there is Theo, a young man who was thought to be a selkie. A foundling who washed up on the shores of the island when he was seven or eight. A boy with webbed fingers who never learned to read or write. Theo befriends both of the Managan children.
Another case of fiction portraying how history has a profound effect on the living. A fascinating read that I'm sure to remember for some time. Outstanding literary fiction.
Australian photo-journalist Luda Managan has been recently widowed. In order to make a new life for herself and her two teenage children she travels to the Orkney Islands to document the effects of climate change on the landscape there. Coastal erosion has become a huge problem on the islands. Shortly after the Managans arrive on the islands they are witness to a terrible accident when a coastal cliff falls and kills a young child. A quirk of fate ascertained that Luda captured this dreadful event with her camera. Luda publishes these photos as being a prime example of the perilous consequences of coastal erosion and global warming - much to the censure of the local residents.
Luda tries so valiantly to not be a 'helicopter parent' that she becomes distanced from her two children. She is facing the quandary of parenting teenagers while realizing that they are both grieving, and the guilt that she has taken them away Australia and everything and everyone they ever knew.
Luda is branded as a witch by some of the locals which causes her to investigate the history of witches on the island. The house where the Managans are living is called the 'ghost house', the only residence still habitable among many on the tiny island of Seannay. This house was where four women had lived centuries before who were later killed for being 'witches'.
The Managan's story takes place over the first three years that they live in the Orkneys and is a tale of light and dark, good and evil, salt and skin. Of the attempt of broken people to heal... Of accidents, fate, scars and storms.
This novel is much more than an environmentalist story. It speaks to the insularity of island communities with their rich history and superstition at the forefront. The narrative was atmospheric in a rather eerie and melancholy way. It presents a unique juxtaposition of social commentary with history and magical realism. It encompasses themes of grief, loss, journalist integrity, myth, folklore, and magic.
I came to really care for the characters while reading "Salt & Skin". It was an eloquently told story that ultimately spoke to the many varied ways we can love.
I loved the scenes that featured Luda's aged relative Cassandra. She seemed imminently wise. I abhorred the scenes that featured the interfering and devious priest, Father Lee.
Luda's two teenage children were the stars of the story in my opinion. Min who is grieving for her late father and bereft of her friends who now live on the opposite side of the world. Darcy, who feels betrayed by his mother and is frighteningly intelligent and brooding.
And then there is Theo, a young man who was thought to be a selkie. A foundling who washed up on the shores of the island when he was seven or eight. A boy with webbed fingers who never learned to read or write. Theo befriends both of the Managan children.
Another case of fiction portraying how history has a profound effect on the living. A fascinating read that I'm sure to remember for some time. Outstanding literary fiction.
August 4, 2022
I was sold initially by the comment that this book "explores the ways that women’s voices and stories were and still are silenced throughout history." Ummm...yes please!
Again, here I was not paying attention to the blurb enough, expecting something historical - think Hannah Kent or Kiran Millwood Hargrave or at least something that switched between the past and the present. Alas, I was actually pleasantly surprised to find a story that was wholly set in the present, with mentions of the recent, as well as historical, past and the way those pasts permeate the lives of people and their communities.
The story was eerie and magical and confronting and haunting and poetic and moving; the setting of Scottish isles was like a chatacter in itself; and it explored a range of issues, not limited to climate change, trauma, first love, family relationships, women's history, and grief.
I have to say, this was yet another winner from Ultimo Press!!
Side note: there are a few things left unsaid in the novel, not in a bad way, but in a way that would be PERFECT for a book club discussion. It's too late for us booksluts but if your book club is looking for a new suggestion...look no further!!
Again, here I was not paying attention to the blurb enough, expecting something historical - think Hannah Kent or Kiran Millwood Hargrave or at least something that switched between the past and the present. Alas, I was actually pleasantly surprised to find a story that was wholly set in the present, with mentions of the recent, as well as historical, past and the way those pasts permeate the lives of people and their communities.
The story was eerie and magical and confronting and haunting and poetic and moving; the setting of Scottish isles was like a chatacter in itself; and it explored a range of issues, not limited to climate change, trauma, first love, family relationships, women's history, and grief.
I have to say, this was yet another winner from Ultimo Press!!
Side note: there are a few things left unsaid in the novel, not in a bad way, but in a way that would be PERFECT for a book club discussion. It's too late for us booksluts but if your book club is looking for a new suggestion...look no further!!
September 7, 2022
That draaaaaagged and was incredibly repetitive.
Listened to the audiobook and the last hour and quarter was like the end of a long and tedious 14 hour flight.
It just drained me.
Listened to the audiobook and the last hour and quarter was like the end of a long and tedious 14 hour flight.
It just drained me.
December 24, 2022
I gave up, hence the 2 star rating.
November 14, 2024
Could have been a lot shorter. Felt like the author tried to do too much and overcommitted which led to most aspects of the book being underdeveloped and me not caring about the characters.
September 27, 2022
A fantastic and complex read. There's lots of wonderful elements in this story; historical mystery, a ghost story, climate change, ethical questions, romance, parent-child relationships, but most of all a wonderful sense of place.
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