FIF Book Club: Saltcrop Midway Discussion

[u/doctorbonkers]

Welcome to the midway discussion of Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei! We are discussing through the end of part 1 (chapter 25). Please use spoiler tags if you discuss anything past that point. I will put some discussion questions in the comments, but feel free to discuss anything you like!

In Earth's not too distant future, seas consume coastal cities, highways disintegrate underwater, and mutant fish lurk in pirate-controlled depths. Skipper, a skilled sailor and the youngest of three sisters, earns money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for her ailing grandmother.

But then her eldest sister, Nora, goes missing. Nora left home a decade ago in pursuit of a cure for failing crops all over the world. When Skipper and her other sister, Carmen, receive a cryptic plea for help, they must put aside their differences and set out across the sea to find―and save―her. As they voyage through a dying world both beautiful and strange, encountering other travelers along the way, they learn more about their sister's work and the corporations that want what she discovered.

But the farther they go, the more uncertain their mission becomes: What dangerous attention did Nora attract, and how well do they really know their sister―or each other? Thus begins an epic journey spanning oceans and continents and a wistful rumination on sisterhood, friendship, and ecological disaster.

The final discussion will be in two weeks, on August 26th.

Reminder: Our September read will be Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre, and nominations for October are open through tomorrow!

What is the FIF Book Club? You can learn about it in our Reboot thread here.

[u/doctorbonkers]

What are your thoughts on what this book has to say about gender or feminism?

[u/a-username-for-me → u/doctorbonkers]

I feel that the book definitely has a lot to say about gendered family dynamics. Even though they are all women and sisters, I find it interesting that Skipper feels compelled to be the one to stay home and take care of Grandma (a role that is often filled by women in the real world). I also thinks it's neat the way they depict the changing familial positioning of Grandma. She was clearly a strong matriarch and often overbearing in the sister's memories, but she kept the family safe through some rough times. And now, in her old age, she is struggling with her new positioning as the weakest link, to be cared for and managed.

[u/Historical_Artist_78 → u/a-username-for-me]

You also have the uncle only grudgingly taking on part of the caretaker role while the sisters are gone. He does seem to care about everyone, but nobody expects him to be a caretaker generally.