A lush, atmospheric queer historical fiction for fans of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Birth House, Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt (Dell 2024) is the perfect read to cozy up with this fall.
Sutherland's queer retelling of the folktale The Selkie Wife follows Jean, a midwife in a Nova Scotia village who is as renowned for her skills as she is for the rumours that circulated about her years ago. Now, Jean keeps to herself on the outskirts of the village, attending to the families who need her. But when a cry outside her isolated home wakes Jean in the night, Jean discovers a woman in labour, freezing and drenched and hardly able to speak any English. Jean doesn't recognize the woman despite being the only midwife for miles. She soon discovers that Muirin is the mysterious new wife of Tobias, her nearest neighbour, but Jean cannot understand why he would keep her pregnancy a secret. When Tobias arrives in search of his wife, Jean only becomes more suspicious, as Muirin is clearly closed off and jumpy around him.
As Jean and Muirin grow closer, Jean grows more and more protective of her and becomes determined to solve the mystery of Muirin's sudden arrival in Tobias's life. Her growing feelings for Muirin and her quest to save her from a harrowing situation leads to the uncovering of secrets more shocking-and illuminating-than she could ever have imagined.
I loved this novel. A Sweet Sting of Salt is exactly the kind of historical fiction I always enjoy reading, and anytime I see the label "queer folktale reimagining" I know I have to pick it up. Plus, fans of Canadian fiction will so enjoy the Nova Scotian setting! Sutherland doesn't disappoint, with a brilliant nineteenth-century world and a cast of characters you grow to love and root for. This is a novel about queer devotion and community, but with a plot that will keep you guessing until the very end, even if you think you know the folktale the novel draws on.
Jean is a character you root for, and you are as quickly charmed by Muirin as Jean is, but everyone else-from the primary characters to the less-central village residents-are vividly drawn. This novel really does an excellent job of creating a portrait of a close-knit village where everyone knows everyone-for better or for worse. I loved how immersive this was, but with a heart-pounding element of mystery and suspense at its heart that kept me turning pages.
If you're looking for a great read this fall or winter, I highly recommend A Sweet Sting of Salt. It won't disappoint!
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Rachel Friars received her doctorate in English Literature at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada in 2024. Her current research centers on neo-Victorianism and lesbian literature and history. Her work has been published with journals such as Studies in the Novel, The Journal of Neo-Victorian Studies, Queer Studies in Media and Popular Culture, and The Palgrave Handbook of neo-Victorianism.
You can find Rachel on X @RachelMFriars or on Goodreads @Rachel Friars. Tags: