A review by miamcmillan
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

overwhelmingly weird. i probably shouldn’t have read this directly after finishing “her body and other parties” because now my brain instinctively wants to compare them and say that while machado’s collection was separate and weird, armfield’s was engaging and personal and direct and weird. the title story made me absolutely squirm i hated it and the concept and i was entirely, unsettlingly hooked. “stop your women’s ears with wax” was my favourite along with salt slow; it just consumed me with a sense of bacchic frenzy that reminded me of the bacchae by euripides and intrigued me all at one time. something i loved was the indifference of the characters (i don’t know how else to describe this) which was conveyed without making them distant and stagnant. i also loved the collectables for its sheer unconcernedness? overall a very reluctantly magnetic and beautifully written little anthology <3 (also a very quick read if that’s what you’re looking for)
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