Review by cxsimpson -- Salt and Pepper by Maria Akhanji

[cxsimpson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Salt and Pepper" by Maria Akhanji.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Ranya is a little girl being raised in Bangladesh by people who do not value her. Her mother has nothing nice to say and her father prefers the attention of her older sister. Her story starts at age 6 and goes until she is almost 20 years old. It follows her back and forth from her parents’ home to her brother’s family’s home. Her brother’s family is not much better than her own and she is forced to learn about life the hard way.

There are a few fairly graphic depictions of child abuse in this book. Ranya experiences emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her parents. Her older sister experiences the same things, but she moves out when Ranya is still quite young. Their parents make up for the loss of one daughter by taking it out on the other. The girl even goes as far as to compare her mother to Satan himself.

What I feel was most impactful about this book was the theme of “salt and pepper.” Ranya’s brother refers to her as this as a way of describing how she fits into their family. Salt and pepper are not a meal on their own, but without them, the meal would be bland and incomplete. Ranya is the youngest child by quite a few years and never felt like she really fit in. It took her a long time to really begin forming her own identity outside of her relationships with her family.

I rate Salt and Pepper by Maria Akhanji 3 out of 4 stars . Overall, the editing was very good. There is one reason I give it three stars instead of four. The first is that the page numbers were unusually spaced with no real rhyme or reason behind the numbers. It was a little tricky to follow for reviewing, but would probably be fine if someone were reading just for pleasure. The book was easy to read and follow. I liked that the author clearly labeled who was speaking in the chapters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Khaled Hosseini’s books, such as The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns. The story takes place in the Middle East for the most part and it realistically depicts a child’s life there. This would also be a good book for anyone who cares to learn more about different life experiences.

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Salt and Pepper
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