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Katherine Vaz, the author of “Above the Salt,” has written a captivating, poignant, and memorable novel. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Romance, Civil War, and Fiction. Katherine Vaz puts a magical feel in her prose, and this well-written story vividly describes the scenery, landscape, plot, and colorful and dramatic characters. John Alves and Mary Freitas are Portuguese refugees from childhood to late adulthood. Much of the background history deals with Catholics and Protestants friction and the time before, during, and after the Civil War. John spent part of his childhood with his mother, a Protestant martyr, in a jail in Madeira. John spent his young life in poverty and met Mary Freitas, an adopted daughter of a famous Botanist. As conflict and war between the two religions intensifies, both find themselves headed to America at different times.
John becomes an educator for deaf students and experiments with ways to improve the student’s learning mode. Mary and her father bring some “magical” plants to the United States and work as gardeners for Edward Moore, a wealthy landowner. Edward does help Mary with her business and would like to be engaged to her.
Mary has not forgotten John Alves. When they do meet again, many things have changed. Some people are jealous and cause betrayal. The Start of the Civil War complicates the relationships. I appreciate how the author discusses the tragedies of the Civil War, the brutality, and the cost of lives. There were twists and turns, and some unexpected and emotional surprises.
I love the poetic images the author describes of nature and the symbolism of the characters. I highly recommend this thought-provoking and heartfelt novel to other readers. I found much of the background educational, and I became aware of some things I didn’t know. I look forward to reading more books from this author.
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