I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw Published by Tor Nightfire on May 2 2023
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 112
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A grotesque but beautifully written tale of revenge and love.
“I bite down on my smile instead, straightening, aware of how I must look: transparent hair, translucent skin, lips red as arteries. Iridescent eyes, stained-glass oceans, so large that they are nearly alien, their breadth magnified by thick, sweeping lashes. With every hour that passes, every morsel of flesh to worm down my throat, I become closer to what I was, what I am: an inhuman thing wrenched from the maw of the sea.”
The main character in The Salt Grows Heavy is a mermaid, but she’s no Ariel, lest you think this is one of those magical mermaid stories. The cover pretty much sums it up: this is a dark and gorey tale, and the mermaid eats people. If body horror isn’t your thing, this might not work for you. But Cassandra Khaw’s flawless, evocative writing is worth the price of admission, in my opinion.
The mermaid’s tale is a sad one. She was claimed by a prince and dragged from the sea to become his wife. He cut out her tongue so she couldn’t speak and then made her eat it. But when her daughters are born, they attack and eat the prince, releasing the mermaid from her prison. And this is where our story starts. With the kingdom in shambles, the mermaid and her friend the plague doctor decide to leave together, not with a destination in mind, but rather to get as far from the kingdom as possible.
But on their journey they encounter an odd group of children and witness one of the boys killing another boy. The boys explain their “Hunt” is just a game, and the dead child will soon be made as good as new, once they return him to their village. Full of curiosity, with no where else they need to be, the mermaid and the plague doctor agree to accompany the boys to their home, where they can witness for themselves the boy’s miraculous recovery.
And this is where the story turns even darker, as the horrors of what’s going on in the village become clear. First, word of warning to squeamish readers. There is a lot of eating of body parts in the story, and when the mermaid and the plague doctor arrive at the village, they meet three men calling themselves surgeons. I won’t go into detail, but you can probably connect the dots yourselves. There are plenty of monsters in this story, including Khaw’s otherworldly mermaid. She’s been tortured and abused, but then turns the tables on the humans who wronged her, and Khaw’s gruesome, vivid imagery brings the story to life.
But this isn’t just a horror story. Behind the mermaid’s sharp teeth is a woman open to falling in love, and that’s just what happens between her and the plague doctor, whose gender isn’t clear (although I believe they are non binary). When I picked this book up, I did not realize there was a love story at its heart, and while the relationship between the two characters might not be anywhere near traditional, it was sweet and heartfelt all the same. I loved the character of the plague doctor, who has a soft spot for the feral children they find in the woods, even though the mermaid isn’t interested in helping them.
The ending, full of raw emotion and longing, was not what I expected at all, but I can’t imagine a more fitting resolution to this weird and wonderful story.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Well that sounds like a great deal of gore going on in a short number of pages 😀
I read Nothing But Blackened Teeth by this author and that got a bit gruesome towards the end as well (perhaps not quite as much as this sounds though).
Pages and Tea recently posted…Monthly Summary: April 2023
Ha ha it was gorier than I was epecting…
“”raw emotion and longing”” might sound as strange companions for a story where horror holds such sway, but I’m very intrigued by this book’s concept, enough to hopefully help me face the harsher “realities” of the story…
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…WYRD & WONDER 2023: Let’s do some magic….
It was an unexpected mix of horror and romance, I’m very happy I read it:-)
As gory and grotesque as this story sounds, I think I actually already love it even without having read it yet. I love reading about mermaids that are dark and scary and dangerous. Also love that she has a plague doctor friend and that it eventually developes in sort some of love relationship. I really really wanna read this book now!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf
Honestly, it’s worth it for the love story, which is something I don’t say very often, lol.
Holding off on reading this until I read it myself to avoid any preconceptions, but I saw your star rating and yay! You liked it a lot! I hope my library gets it (I haven’t checked yet)…and it’s nice that it’s a novella, whew!
Celeste | A Literary Escape recently posted…ARC Review: Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
I’m curious to see what you think!
Another book I’m hoping to read this month! If I’m all fantasy’ed out with Wyrd and Wonder, I figure it would be a quick one to slip in between reads. So glad to hear it was good!
I suppose you could even consider this horror/fantasy:-)
Something about the relationship reminds me of Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water hahah This sounds cool! 😀
Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes recently posted…My Monthly Anticipation | May 2023
Can you believe I have not seen that movie yet? (or read the book). Now I want to!
This sounds pretty intriguing, despite the body horror! 😀
It was not what I was expecting at all, but I loved it:-)
I really need to read this this year.
Jennifer | Book Den recently posted…Recent Updates and Currently Reading | May 7
Probably a bit too gory for me, but it still sounds like an amazing read. Glad it was a hit for you!
Oh wow, this one sounds really good! Glad you enjoyed it. Great review!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Blog Tour Review: Neutral Zone (Carolina Comets #7) by Teagan Hunter