*Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
Saltblood is a historical fiction that recounts the life of notorious female pirate, Mary Read. I have mix feelings with this book and how Read is portrayed. By the end of the novel Mary Read, in my opinion, is a reduced down to a pathetic individual who is still unsure of their identity and place in the world. Even her companion Anne Bonny escapes execution and leaves a so-called friend to rot. Of course, this is just the author’s interpretation of what could have happened based on little evidence and historical documentations. But even so, this book doesn’t paint the infamous sailor in a heroic light. Read’s story is one of tragedy, who floats between gender and identity, without a true purpose. The first person narrative creates a level of intimacy with Mary’s thoughts that I don’t know how comfortable I feel with the idea. These are real historical figures, where words are being placed in their mouth without real evidence.
The author sets out to recount the life of notorious pirate Mary Read and the author does just that, but whether the story is particularly gripping is another matter. I enjoyed aspects of this book, for example Mary’s time at sea from her early days as sailor and how she builds friends within a cut-throat period of war. However, the first person narrative is written matter-of-fact without any emotion or attention to world building and scene setting. Considering this is a historical fiction, I would have liked more immersive writing that encapsulated the golden age of piracy. But due to the first person narrative, I understand there are limitations to describing what Mary can’t see or feel. The writing and plot structure follows Mary’s life from birth to death reminds me of Orlando by Virginia Woolf that explored similar ideas of the main character undergoing life as a different gender – from male to female in a way to highlight the gender gap in society.
The plot tackles Mary’s life as a sailor, soldier and pirate as well as discussing gender, but the plot is too quick for readers to truly understand how this impacts the character or whether this was typical of the period. This book is fast-paced and crams a lot into the book, but bypasses important character development and plot points. I think this would benefit from focusing on a specific period in Mary Read’s life such as her piracy with Anne Bonny and dive deeper into their relationship and piracy in general at the time. That being said, this accounts Mary’s life as one of loss, love and isolation that does shed light on Mary’s rocky life and her attempt to find where she fits into a male dominated world. The narrative continues to question who Mary is as her identity is ever-changing. Her identity becomes more solidified when Anne Bonny is introduced. Unlike her companion Anne Bonny, Mary doesn’t leave a legacy of any living relatives and any friends she does make, are either dead or desert her.
Overall, a disappointing read considering the potential of exploring a time in history that was very dark, fascinating and home to notorious female pirates. I think the author has tried to do too much and missed the mark slightly. This will appeal to readers who enjoy cradle to death storylines and not bothered with intricate plot lines and story arcs. Saltblood does what it says it is, a recount of Mary Read. The author is constrained to following Read’s life, so this makes it very difficult to leave that path as the reader knows that she becomes a pirate and eventually dies in prison. The surprise element is lost.