View source for Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas

{{infobox1
|title=Thirst For Salt    
|author=Madelaine Lucas
|reviewer=Olivia Tierney
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Chronicling a young woman's relationship and how it changed her forever, ''Thirst for Salt'' is an atmospheric and poetic novel that explores the complexities of desire and longing. A beautiful book revolving around love and family, ''Thirst for Salt'' showcases Madelaine Lucas' talent for storytelling.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=336
|publisher= Oneworld Publications
|date=May 2023
|isbn=978-0861546497
|website=https://www.madelainelucas.com
|cover=0861546490
|aznuk=0861546490
|aznus=0861546490
}}

''Love, I'd read, was supposed to be a light and weightless feeling, but I had always longed for gravity''

Told from a retrospective view, a young woman unravels the year-long relationship that once defined her. Overlaid with later wisdom, the narrator relives the affair with a man twenty years her senior from its inception – the summer after finishing university – to its sorrowful end the summer after. Set against the backdrop of an isolated Australian coastal town ''Thirst for Salt'' details the 24-year-old narrator's deepening relationship with her older lover, depicting its all-consuming nature, how it changed her perspective on both romantic and familial relationships and how it altered her irrevocably.

''Thirst for Salt'' is a quiet but outstanding novel. While it centres around an electrifying romantic affair, it is so much more than a love story, delving into the intricacies of loss, grief, happiness and acceptance. Alongside the overarching theme of first love and how powerful its impact can be, Lucas masterfully explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and the concept of home. Every layer added to the story – every character, every event, every revelation – is thought-provoking, encouraging the reader to imagine what they would think, what they would do, how they would feel were they to find themselves in their situations. It is a true and honest reflection of real love and real life and how the past shapes us.

Complimenting the story is Lucas' writing. Lyrical and gorgeous, her words draw readers in from the first few sentences and keeps them until the very last page. Every passage is carefully wrought, every word beautifully refined and it really is a pleasure to read. Through her writing, the novel's characters come alive, faults and all, and this is what I believe truly separates ''Thirst for Salt'' from other literary works.

It is, quite simply, one of the most compelling and beautifully crafted books I've ever read. Every page is brimming with raw emotion and it's so evocative, so vivid, so richly imagined that at times it feels as if you are looking back on your own story.

A glorious triumph, ''Thirst for Salt'' is a phenomenal debut and will I have no doubt be one of the books of 2023. One to read and savour.

Many thanks to the publishers for providing the Bookbag with a copy for review!

In terms of further reading, for contemporary fiction I would recommend any of Sally Rooney's books which detail the dynamics of a variety of relationships as beautifully as Madelaine Lucas. Alternatively, [[The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro]] offers an equally reflective, equally bittersweet and beautiful story.

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[[Category:General Fiction]]