A review by rabbitholereader
The Blue Salt Road by Joanne M. Harris

3.0

⭑⭑⭑ 3 stars

"And thou shalt marry a gunnerman proud,
And a very proud gunner I'm sure he'll be,
And the very first shot that e'er he shoots,
He'll kill both my young son and me."

Our story begins with a young selkie, a seal that can shed his skin and walk on land as a man. This selkie loves the tantalising taste of danger and walking so close to the Folk on land, who have been slaughtering his clan for years. A passionate love affair ensues between the selkie and a wild, red-haired woman named Flora. Once she finds out that she is with child, she tries to lure the selkie to stay first with passion, and then with trickery.

There is such a whimsical quality to the writing that the fairy tale vibe glows strong. The writing is as beautiful as it is savage. [a:Joanne M Harris (author)] does a great job of capturing the setting of both the sea and the land, which bought about a level of realism that the novel may have otherwise lacked.

The imagery provoked from the author's writing is simply fantastic. It wasn't hard to imagine a great wet, wintery, wild land that was as brutal as the ocean.

One thing I loved about this novel is that there are no good guys, and no bad guys. There are only complex folk, mythological beings, and a story that feels like it's been passed down for generations.

The illustrations were delectable, and gave me a good idea of the wild blood that runs through each of the characters, who have their own secrets. They also added to the fairy tale quality that was so prominent in this book.

Unfortunately, I found that my attention wandered at times, and many times I had to read a sentence once or twice to let it sink in.

Other than that, this was a mildly entertaining tale full of fantastical delights and twists enough to make my toes curl with revulsion and pity.

Click to follow my blog for more reviews