Important Literature: The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara
Important Literature: The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara
Written by: Elyana Riddick || Date: January 11, 2021
Featured bookstore: The Dock Bookshop of Fort Worth, TX
I first came into contact with this book while taking a writing intensive course at my university. The class was all about black women--specifically the controlling images black women face in media and overall society. It was a long course, but of course my professor--an unapologetically black maestro of black feminist literature and its implications in intersectionality--was saving this book for the end of the course.
I had never heard of Ms. Bambara before--in all honesty it was my first time ever diving into so much black literature. It was a new world for me. I stood at the crossroads of my race, its expression, and its place within my identity. Thankfully, The Salt Eaters--released in 1980 and awarded the American Book Award--beautifully addressed my dilemma in such a refreshing way.
Bambara's novel The Salt Eaters is a journey in every sense of the world. The book has no specified time, as well as no specified protagonist. Each chapter takes an intrinsic dive on the lives of Bambara's characters--a sickly woman, a bus driver, a husband, a medicinal spiritualist, and more. It's a testimony to spirituality: the book elaboratively dwells on African spirituality and its presence in our white society as well as environmental effects on spiritual identity. The characters' stories--although uniquely experienced--are intricately woven into one another, creating a revelation so grand and a story so intwined. The writing style is colorful and complex, which can be difficult to read at first, however this writing is art. It's not conversational and it's not inviting. It is gripping, challenging anyone who reads to invest themselves in every single syllable their eyes run across.
And how could I forget about The Salt Eaters' black feminist theory? Although each scene is commonplace--often situations that we find ourselves experiencing--the story highlights how intersectional oppression is explicit in the daily lives of black women. The story gives praise to black women's accomplishments (even to daily rituals) and exposure to the burden they carry living day-to-day in a white patriarchal society. This book empowering wisdom, and if I could claim nothing else to be required reading, I would be satisfied knowing The Salt Eaters is the only one on my list.
The Salt Eaters is available to purchase online and in stores, however we would like you to purchase from The Dock Bookshop--a black-owned bookstore located in Fort Worth, TX. When you get a taste of Bambara's magic, please feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments section: we'd love to hear from you!
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