Review: The Book of Salt

The Book of Salt

by Monique Truong

ABOUT THE BOOK
"Binh, a Vietnamese cook, flees Saigon in 1929, disgracing his family to serve as galley hand at sea. The taunts of his now-deceased father ringing in his ears, Binh answers an ad for a live-in cook at a Parisian household, and soon finds himself employed by Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas." (from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS
"The Book of Salt" is Binh's story, and is not really about Gertrude Stein or the writers and artists of the Golden Age in Paris. Though I was somewhat disappointed by that, I was completely mesmerized by this book.

Binh's story is a sad one. He is disowned by his family and exiled from his home country because of his homosexuality. He becomes a wanderer, spending time as a galley hand at sea and as a chef at various homes in Paris. Binh is always on the outside - because of language barriers, because of social structure, because of his homosexuality. Binh's desperation, his misery, his self-hatred is so poignant and moving.

I thought it was ironic - and very meaningful - that Binh's life has been destroyed by his lifestyle choice, and yet he is serving two women (the "Steins") who are in an openly lesbian relationship and never face any condemnation or ostracization. Though the author never points out this discrepancy, I felt it was always there as a quiet undercurrent.

RATING
The prose is exquisite, the narrative is  masterfully rendered, the attention to detail is superb. All in all, it is an impressive first novel.

I read this book for the Paris In July blog event.