★ 08/28/2023

Vaz (Mariana) draws on the real-life story of Portuguese immigrant and Civil War veteran John Alves for a sprawling yet intimate epic of persecution, reinvention, and romance. After surviving imprisonment for heresy with his Presbyterian mother on the Portuguese island of Madeira in the 1840s, five-year-old John meets Maria Freitas, an adoptee raised by a Catholic gardener sympathetic to the country’s marginalized Protestants. Their brief childhood friendship flares back to life when the two are reacquainted as adults in 1860 Illinois. Maria, now Mary, is reluctantly engaged to a botany professor and trying to find a market for the miracle berry plants she and her father brought to America. John teaches at a school for the Deaf and is working on a machine he hopes will record sound. Under the looming threat of war and faced with religious and social obstacles, John and Mary pursue a love that will reverberate through the rest of their lives. In lyrical prose, Vaz conveys her characters’ curiosity about the world’s beauty (“They hauled blankets out where the stars were like knots on the back of satin that God and all the dead were stitching; what handiwork was on the other side?”) and doles out powerful observations on human nature, such as this description of a businessman trying to hustle Mary: “His paper-thin skin advertised his bones. Men like this resembled their own memento mori, and yet they never saw it.” Readers will be entranced by this ambitious and heartbreaking saga. Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group. (Nov.)

"Operatic... and memorably vivid." —Kirkus (starred review)

"Focus on the Protestant Portuguese’s exile from Madeira... creates a fascinating framework for this episodic yet sweeping literary novel that is equal parts love story and immigrant experience..." —Booklist

"In lyrical prose, Vaz conveys her characters’ curiosity about the world’s beauty and doles out powerful observations on human nature... Readers will be entranced by this ambitious and heartbreaking saga." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Katherine Vaz has given us yet another magical novel with vivid imagery and the complexities of cultural identity. Above the Salt is a sprawling epic narrative with thought-provoking and exquisitely crafted language that explores the impact of history, religion, culture, and migration. It is a compelling saga, a literary masterpiece that celebrates the enduring power of love and reflects on our shared heritage." —Diniz Borges, writer, editor, translator

"Vaz has written an epic love story, about time and distance and miracles and a fate written in the stars. The writing is astonishing, beautiful; the book impossible to put down." —Whitney Otto, author of How To Make an American Quilt

"Above the Salt is a lyrically haunting historical tale of what lovers overcome to manifest their destinies and find their best selves. Set against a backdrop of horticulture, migration, religion, and renewal, Katherine Vaz’s novel sweeps us across decades and seas—from a tiny Portuguese island off the coast of Africa to the sprawling American Midwest—to expertly weave faith, hope, betrayal, and resilience into a story of enduring love."
—Amina Gautier, author of The Best That You Can Do

"What are our obligations to honor and love? How do we build lives across divides of time and space? Katherine Vaz asks big questions through the rich tapestry of daily life. Above the Salt is a gorgeous, surprising novel, at once intricate and bold." —Elizabeth Graver, author of The End of the Point and Kantika

"Large, lush, and luscious, Above the Salt sings of love and time and endurance and possibility, in a most singular key." —Gish Jen, author of Mona in the Promised Land and Thank You, Mr. Nixon

“The first time I ever heard Katherine Vaz read, I remember thinking, Who is this sorceress? as she made me cry in public. Now we have a new novel from her, and the magic has expanded.” —Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night

“Katherine Vaz offers us a story of discovery, loss, and the fragile but unwavering bonds of love that endure despite it all. This epic saga confirms her as one of our best writers.” —Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize

"Since the publication of her first novel, Saudade, Katherine Vaz has stood out as a Portuguese American writer uniquely capable of expressing the inchoate longing of the Portuguese soul. Now, with Above the Salt, she becomes the pre-eminent voice of those of us who are part of the vast Portuguese diaspora with this visionary, immigrants' tale told through her rueful, hallucinogenic prose." —Michael Rezendes, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist

12/02/2023

Vaz (Saudade) pulls from her heritage to write a passionate, poetic Portuguese American journey with a dash of magical realism. Maria and John meet in Portugal in the 1840s as children and are immediately drawn to each other. Maria's father is a master botanist who has passed on his talents to his daughter, who is also a gifted embroiderer. John's mother is a religious zealot who puts John in danger for her beliefs. When the two meet again as refugees in a Portuguese enclave in Illinois, Maria's beauty has captivated a wealthy man, and both she and John have strong political beliefs that lead to them spending time with Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln before his presidency. John becomes a beloved teacher for the Deaf, and then fights in the Civil War; Maria marries and tries to find her place in American society. The draw between them never ceases, despite the fates seeming to keep them apart. VERDICT Overblown writing and an occasionally lagging plot detract from the story. However, this romantic immigrants' epic novel does capture the depth of the Portuguese experience at a tipping point in American history.—Beth Liebman Gibbs

Gisela Chípe's sensitive performance combined with Katherine Vaz's artful prose offers a recipe for hours of enchanting listening. With passion and drama, Vaz draws from the true story of John Alves, a Portuguese immigrant. The novel dips into the harsh realities of his life from 1840 through the 1860s, softening it with scenes of magical realism. Chípe brings the magic to life. She captures the subtle interactions among the characters and their connections to the natural world. Chípe's handling of real-world events--John's fleeing his homeland in search of religious freedom and the constantly bad timing of his thwarted love of Mary Freitas--adds depth to this epic family saga, which spans two continents and several decades. Listening at its best. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

★ 2023-08-23
Vaz follows star-crossed 19th-century lovers over eight decades and two continents as their personal crises intersect with Portuguese and American history.

Poetic language creates a dreamy, over-the-top atmosphere in which “air sighed like a church organ’s coda” for this sweeping saga of thwarted love overstuffed with characters and events. Over and over, soul mates John Alves and Mary Freitas reunite only to separate. Unlucky timing, world events, and meddling by mean-spirited acquaintances are the main culprits, although the lovers’ impetuous choices also play a role. They first bond as children in 1846 on the Portuguese island of Madeira shortly before local Catholics violently attack Protestant converts; John’s family are converts who must flee, Mary’s father a Catholic whose religious tolerance gets him in trouble. When they next meet in 1860 Illinois, Mary, not yet 21, is engaged to another man. Edward Moore is a wealthy American 10 years Mary’s senior who has employed her to run his greenhouse. While John is the novel’s leading man, a model of rectitude and unwavering passion, Edward is more complicated and therefore more endearing. His sense of privilege and social awkwardness is offset by self-awareness, sensitivity, broadmindedness, and progressive attitudes—for instance, he pays Mary as much as a man. Mary’s passion for John survives dramatic events—phony letters designed to tear them apart, parental disapproval, the mistaken belief he has died—but is never tested by actual daily life together. Edward and Mary push and pull each other in their professional as well as their emotional partnership. While she always adores and idealizes John, Mary underestimates Edward for years. The love triangle plays out against the backdrop of history. The Civil War and the San Francisco earthquake play disruptive roles, and Lincoln is one of many historic figures with whom the characters interact.

Operatic, sometimes soap operatic, and memorably vivid.