I like to read family novels, but the more I read, the more clearly I understand that in fact they are divided into two categories: the first tells about families in which no one loves anyone, the characters are not connected by anything but blood kinship and endless insults, and the content revolves around endless flashbacks about how the family came to the life of such.
The latter are more sentimental, optimistic and life-affirming, about the fact that blood is not water, and no matter who offended someone at the time, the family is still more than a pedigree diagram on a white sheet. "Salt" by Jean-bAptiste Del Amo is a typical representative of the first category, a text completely devoid of a plot, and consisting only of memories and pieces of momentary reflections of the characters on the topic of their family.
At the center of the novel is the family of a French sailor living on the coast, in the city of Set. Louise and Armand have three children: the eldest daughter Fanny has been suffering for years because of the death of her own daughter, and her mother blames her for an uncomplicated life, her son Albin, who was once her father's favorite, turns into him over the years, which is why his life is going downhill, the youngest, Jonas.
The mother's favorite, who never managed to woo his father while he was alive, constantly recalls the history of the formation of his own sexuality and somehow it turns out that it was the behavior of his parents that pushed him into the arms of unfamiliar men. At the moment, Armand has been dead for a long time, and Louise is waiting for children and grandchildren for dinner, but she is afraid that the family is no longer given to get together.
All the heroes of "Salt" are revealed through a relationship with Arman, who is no longer among the living: a typical lout who believes that there are only two opinions on everything - his and the wrong one, even after death continues to cast a shadow on his family. He could have been modeled after Cronin's James Brody.
But Del Amo is important not just to create a portrait of a tyrant-tyrant, but to make it real, voluminous, not only with disadvantages, but also with advantages, thanks to which this person can be loved, to show the reasons for the formation of character and how differently children and spouse perceive the father of the family at different times, how over the years they rethink the fragments of the past associated with him.
An important point that somehow does not often occur in fiction and which, in principle, it is not customary to talk about is the resentment of children against their mother for staying with a drunken father who suppresses his children. How often do adults believe that they are doing something for the sake of children, stepping on the throat of their own song, but at the same time completely ignore the fact that the main reason for such behavior is their own fear of changing something.
The whole essence of Louise's motherhood is presented in the novel with the help of the image of a dog that has just given birth: a stray animal was born next to Armand's father's house and even young Albin and Jonas were told to collect the puppies in a bag and drown them in the sea. The dog whines and runs after the bag, but when he is in the water, he turns his attention to Arman coming to the pier, and only when the puppies are dead begins to pull them ashore.
This selfless devotion to a man, whatever he may be, according to Del Amo is characteristic not only of dogs, but also of women who continue to look into their husband's mouth, while their children only dream of leaving their father's house as soon as possible. Of course, against the background of his father, Arman does not look so terrible, but, as you know, a dysfunctional family can be for completely different reasons, and sometimes emotional coldness hurts more than beatings.
Because of the fragmented narrative, which often jumps from hero to hero and from one time period to another, it was difficult for me to get involved in the "SALT": starting a new passage, you do not immediately understand how old the heroes were at the events described, which of them is which (there are in the novel, in addition to the main characters, several partners of Jonas, Armand's brother and father, his children, children and Fanny's husband.
In general, until everything falls into place, a good half of the book will already be read) and how does what is described in general relate to the theme of the work and its central event - a family dinner at Louise's. I managed to dive into the text with my head only closer to the middle, and therefore it is possible that some elements of this family mosaic simply were not captured by my consciousness.
Another annoying thing in the "Salt" was the endless masturbation scenes: the feeling that the characters have an unconditional reflex that works when it is necessary and not necessary (and mostly when it is not necessary) and then they unbutton their pants or run their hand under the dress. Whether the reader wants it or not, he will certainly find out what is going on with the pubic hair of each of the heroes of "Salt".
If several rather detailed sex scenes in this case are at least appropriate and really matter for the plot, then sudden self-satisfaction sometimes seems to poke in the eyes. In general, if you are a prude and all things related to sex in literature are something obscene and traumatic for you, the openly gay Del Amo, who received the de Sade Prize five years ago, is clearly not your author.
410.607 SRY