Grief-stricken and on the verge of a breakdown, photographer Luda Managan leaves Australia for a commission, bringing her two teenage children to a remote, weather- ravaged but beautiful Scottish island.

Luda, isolated from her two resentful teenagers, turns her attention to the records from the 17th century island witch hunts and the fragmented life stories of the executed women. Min, her daughter, restless and strong, tries to fill up the space in their family left by her father. She soon finds comfort in both the sea and an unlikely friendship.

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But the only thing that beautiful and gifted Darcy cares about is getting marks high enough for entry into university – one very, very far away from his mother. Until he meets the wild foundling, Theo, who is slowly self-destructing in a community that is both protective and violent towards him.
 
But when a tragic accident unleashes ghosts and the echoes of long-ago violence and betrayal into their lives, the Managans must confront their unspoken histories in order to survive.

Luminously-written, Salt & Skin is a compelling modern family drama, threaded with folklore and building to an incredible, climactic ending. It’s a story of wild landscapes, incomers, outsiders and changelings, and a meditation on the absence of women’s voices in stories and history. And like a hymn to the sea, it is unpredictable, startling and beautiful.

My Review

I’ve only ever read two books that I can compare this with, and they are She Never Told Me About The Ocean by Elizabeth Sharp McKetta and The Unravelling by Polly Crosby. They all have that same whimsical, magical unworldliness, and the first two became my top books of the year in 2021 and 2022. I have a feeling Salt & Skin will be in my top books of 2023.

It’s hard to describe what Salt & Skin is about, because it’s so much more than a story. It’s beautiful, lyrical and filled with superstition and magic. It’s about a family and their journey across the world to find a new beginning, but it’s also about motherhood, grief, love and community. It’s about the witches who were executed in the 17th century and the religion that fears them and would still persecute them if they could.

Following the tragic death of her husband Joshua, Luda Managan leaves her home in Australia, taking her two teenage children with her, having accepted a commission to photograph the natural surroundings on a remote Scottish isle. The Managans are distantly related to an old lady named Cassandra who lives there. They are to lodge in ‘the ghost house’, where there is barely room for them all to sleep. And there are markings on the wall that are of interest to local archeologist, Tristan.

The children hate the move, until Min becomes a friend to Cassandra and finds going out on a boat and deep diving in the cold sea far more interesting than school, while her older brother Darcy is only interested in getting the grades to go to University. Then Darcy meets the luminous foundling Theo, wild and untamed, an abandoned child with webbed fingers. He was found washed up on the beach when he was around seven years old and is now seventeen. No-one knows where he came from. In the meantime, Luda alienates the whole community because of a photo which she took and published.

This book is so beautiful, I can’t get it out of my head. It will remain with me for many years to come. It made me gasp and it made me cry and its profound effect will ripple through my life like the waves on the beach at Seannay.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Eliza Henry-Jones is a writer and academic based on a little flower farm in Victoria, Australia. Her previous novels have been listed for multiple literary awards including the ABIA, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and QLD Literary Awards. Her work has also been published widely, appearing in places such as the Guardian, Country Style, The Big Issue and The Age. Eliza has qualifications in psychology as well as grief, loss and trauma counselling. @elizahenryjones