The Route of Ice and Salt

Paperback, 196 pages

Published Jan. 19, 2021 by Innsmouth Free Press.

ISBN:
978-1-927990-29-2
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2 stars (3 reviews)

1 edition

Review of 'The Route of Ice and Salt' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is one of those books that not everyone is going to love. The first half of the book has a dream like quality to it, and is mostly the erotic desire of a queer male sea captain. It's his private diary of thoughts and desire leading up to the end. It gets reasonably graphic, but not overly so in my opinion. The second half of the book is a more factual journal of events, a captain's log of sorts. It was almost like reading two completely different books with the same premise.

The Route of Ice and Salt was a really well written book that conjured up a lot of imagery and sold the story of the sea captain really well. However, I found it really hard to get through, and I almost didn't finish it several times. I think this is because what the book was, and what …

Review of 'The Route of Ice and Salt' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

One of the first books I've DNF'd in a while. Weirdly, given my understanding of socially acceptable behaviour can be fallible and how sex-positive (I think) I am, I was really uncomfortable with the way the narrator talks about his lustful thoughts towards other men.

I'm not gonna star-rate the book, as I think that might be more about me than about the book—nor is it about Bowles's translation, which feels very era-appropriate in tone.