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The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() Or it is the "sea roads" that connect the Haitian slaves (Ginen) to their ancestral roots in Africa. ![]() The title could have different meanings, referring to the salt of tears, sweat, and blood, all shed in the struggles for freedom by the three women. She later converted to Christianity, although most of her story is probably fictional, and Hopkinson combined it with that of Maria Aegyptiaca, Saint Mary of Egypt. Thais was a prostitute in 4th Century Alexandria, Egypt, whose mother was Nubian, her father Greek. The third is also historical, but from a much earlier period. It's possible she was a descendant of one of the characters in the earlier scenario, but not Mer, who never had children. She was a mistress of French poet Charles Baudelaire, on and off for about twenty years. The second woman is historical, Jeanne Duval, who left Haiti around 1840 to become an actress/dancer in France. ![]() The first introduced is the slave woman Mer, a healer on a Saint Domingue (later Haiti) sugar cane plantation. The Salt Roads, which was a finalist for Nebula, Locus, and Gaylactic Spectrum awards, features three women in three different eras and locales. The third of Nalo Hopkinson's novels could be considered historical fiction blended with fantasy. A purchase through our link may earn us a commission. Out of print, but available for Kindle from Amazon. ![]()
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