Poet and novelist, Jennifer Givhan, has very recently published her third novel, “Salt Bones.” As a Mexican American and Indigenous writer from the Southwest, Givhan’s descriptive and complex portrayal of “El Valle” and the Salton Sea and its residents ring true.
The landscape of “Salt Bones” is one of the most impactful characters in the novel. The location at the very southern end of California near Mexico is an environmental nightmare. The area depicted in the novel relates what happens when agricultural runoff pollutes the water, then the land, the fish and birds and finally the humans. Into this harsh and dying setting, Givhan introduces Mal Veracruz and her family.
If you go
WHAT: Author Event: Jennifer Givhan, author of “Salt Bones.”
WHEN: 6-8 p.m. Aug. 28.
WHERE: The Rochester Hotel Garden, 726 East Second Ave.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit mariasbookshop.com.
The Veracruz family has been in El Valle for generations. Mal is the second of four children and has never left the family home. She works as a master butcher and has single-handedly been raising two daughters. No one but her knows who fathered her daughters. The oldest, Griselda, is a science major at University of California San Diego. The younger daughter, Amaranta, is a quiet and serious high school student.
One distinction, besides the damage to California’s largest inland water body, of El Valle, is the troubling issue of missing young girls, all teenagers. One of the missing was Mal’s younger sister, Elena, who disappeared after a teen party near the sea. It’s been more than 20 years since, and Mal’s mother still blames her for not looking out for her sister. After this traumatic event, Mal started having nightmares involving La Siguanaba.
Although references to the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter have been used to describe the theme of “Salt Bones,” this does a disservice to the rich myths from South America and Mexico. The Greek myths focus on the actions of the gods, while the Latin and Indigenous tales focus on humans. Some of these include La Llorona, El Cucuy and the chupacabra. Most are used to scare children into behaving and staying out of danger.
La Siguanaba, Mal’s nightmare, originates from El Salvador. She appears as a beautiful woman, who then morphs into a creature with the face of a horse. It is rumored that this creature has something to do with the teen girls’ disappearances. This creature has started to haunt Mal again. This is happening both at night and during the day. When another girl disappears, Mal becomes convinced that La Siguanaba is warning her to be on the alert for her own girls’ safety, but is she too late?
Givhan adds to the turmoil in El Valle with drama involving two disparate families. The Veracruz family has had decades of interactions with the town’s leading family, the Callahans. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that these two families are living in a contemporary saga.
The Callahans own most of the land and have several businesses that make them the richest and most powerful in the area, while the Veracruz family is part of the working class of the town. Currently, Griselda and Harlan, the youngest Callahan, have an on again, off again romantic relationship. Also, Mal’s older brother, Esteban, is running for office and needs the support of the Callahans. Her younger brother, Benny, is a police officer, but even his boss seems to answer to the power of the Callahans. There is no evading their reach in this small town.
Givhan has crafted a rich, multilayered and epic novel that includes all the ingredients for a tantalizing and visceral adventure. Mal’s quest to protect her daughters and help them escape the claustrophobic and stilted town of their birth is fraught with roadblocks. Deep family secrets and ties to the Callahans reach a breaking point.
Givhan’s spellbinding narrative includes drama, mystery, culture and the supernatural in a compelling, page-turning novel.
Leslie Doran is a retired teacher and freelance writer.
