Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Gilly Salt Sisters

by Tiffany Baker (Goodreads Author)

3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 1,251 ratings · 283 reviews

The author of the New York Times bestselling The Little Giant of Aberdeen County returns with a magic-tinged tale of dreams, family secrets, and betrayals on a New England salt farm.

In the isolated Cape Cod village of Prospect, the Gilly sisters are as different as can be. Jo, a fierce and quiet loner, is devoted to the mysteries of her family's salt farm, while Claire is...more

Hardcover, 370 pages

Published March 14th 2012 by Grand Central Publishing

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Summer 2012

25th out of 82 books — 67 voters

Books I Must Read in 2012

356th out of 511 books — 457 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 19, 2012 Diane S. rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The Tuners and the Gillys, old family residents of Prospect, a village in Cape Cod. The Gillys belong to the salt, salt is the magical element in this book that ties everything together, and the Turners want to own the whole town. Loved the character development in this novel, how they change with the circumstances and the trials they face. Shifting alliances, secrets revealed and tragedies, kept me reading to the end. Love magical realism when it is done well and thi...more

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 07, 2013 Cheryl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jo and Claire Gilly live on a salt farm. The townsfolk believe that the sisters are bewitched and so is their salt. Jo loves the salt. On the other hand, Claire hates the salt and would do anything to get away from it. Thus the reason that she married Whit Turner. Whit first had his eyes on Jo but Claire went in for the kill and married him.

Jo and Claire will learn just how strong a sisters bond really is when Claire is forced to move back in with her sister and Whit’s pregnant mistress.

I read...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Sheila DeChantal rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the village of Cape Cod, the Gilly’s are known for their salt farm. The sisters grew up working the farm and knowing the hard work of mining salt under the watchful eye and guidance of their mother. Jo, the older of the two, embarrassed what the salt brought to her community and to her life, Claire however felt differently, being pretty and popular she could not get wait to get away from the burden that to her was all the salt offered… and she would find a way out no matter what….

even if it m...more In the village of Cape Cod, the Gilly’s are known for their salt farm. The sisters grew up working the farm and knowing the hard work of mining salt under the watchful eye and guidance of their mother. Jo, the older of the two, embarrassed what the salt brought to her community and to her life, Claire however felt differently, being pretty and popular she could not get wait to get away from the burden that to her was all the salt offered… and she would find a way out no matter what….

even if it meant marrying the son of the family who caused the Gilly’s the most grief… wealthy Whit Turner. When a fire destroys the relationship between the sisters, and Claire’s high school sweetheart turns his heart to other things, Claire escapes into her life with Whit.

Of course, as Claire soon learns, money and prestige are not everything.

Then the tides turn again and Claire finds herself brought full circle, back to the past she had escaped, and along with her the pregnant mistress of her husbands. Jo and Claire together work to make things right in Cape Cod, learning to accept each other and seeing that sometimes all you need is a little pinch of salt.

I have had my eye on this book since I first seen the cover. The title is catching and the cover drew me in. Thankfully, this book was not just a surface love, within its pages (or in this case, within the audio)I found a tale that was both interesting and delightful all rolled into one. Author Tiffany Baker (who is also the author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County) has a fun wit about her and there are so many great quotes in this book…

“There was no etiquette guide in the universe that told you how to handle waking up in a house you’d fled from as a teenager with your estranged sister in one room across the hall and your husband’s pregnant teenage mistress in the other.”

It was really interesting learning about the salt, and I liked the almost “magical” aspect they gave it… not knowing what the salt would do and believing that ones fate could be tied to the salt. There is also the strong differences between the sisters that you can appreciate, Jo always loyal to a fault, and Claire strong and independent to the point of her own almost destruction… together they level each other out.

Narrator Angela Brazil had a nearly flawless performance as she seamlessly made her way through the cast of interesting characters without pause. This was one of those books you could not wait to know how it is all going to end, and at the same time you dread knowing how it is all going to end because that is of course… the end. And honestly, I did not want it to end.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of this amazing read. While I listened to it on audio, I suspect it is just as wonderful and engaging in book format. Keep your eye on Tiffany Baker, with writing like this I cant wait to see what she comes up with next.(less)

like · see review

Jan 24, 2013 Prom rated it 3 of 5 stars

This story was one that I had to read gently. I felt that it deserved that kind of reading mindset. It wasnt particularly enticing or gripping. It didnt really leave me wanting more, yet it wasnt alltogether satisfying. It was a bit slow going and the parts that were intriguing, there just wasnt enough of. But something about it kept me turning the pages and drinking in the lives of the Gillys and the Turners.

I am a huge fan of fantasy and stories of witches and witchcraft. I picked this up bec...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 18, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

*SPOILER ALERT* I read Baker's 1st book and really liked it, so I was excited to see you had written a new book. This story had the same feel with the mix of mysticism, romance & the complexities of human relations. It was good. I didn't like it as much as Baker's first book, but it was good overall.

The ending was disappointing to me. Having Whit & Dee die in the fire that Claire started just ended things abruptly. It would've been interesting to find out how Whit would react to Dee's pr...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 09, 2012 Carolyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Once it was the duty of the Gilly sisters to throw the salt into the flames of the December’s Eve bonfire and divine the town’s future for the coming year. But after Claire runs off and becomes a Turner, leaving her older sister to eke out a living on the salt marshes alone, things begin to change. In her new position as a member of the most prominent family in town, Claire slowly makes sure that the townspeople shun the Gilly salt. It doesn’t take much, just a well-chosen remark let slip here a...more Once it was the duty of the Gilly sisters to throw the salt into the flames of the December’s Eve bonfire and divine the town’s future for the coming year. But after Claire runs off and becomes a Turner, leaving her older sister to eke out a living on the salt marshes alone, things begin to change. In her new position as a member of the most prominent family in town, Claire slowly makes sure that the townspeople shun the Gilly salt. It doesn’t take much, just a well-chosen remark let slip here and there.

Jo remains in the marshes, flooding the basins and scraping off the salt that the sea yielded. She prefers the solitude and has been trained for the hard work since a young child. After the fire, the salt barn fire that Clair starts, the one that takes Jo’s right eye and leaves her horribly scarred, she wants as little to do with people as possible, avoiding their stares and whispered comments. Once Whit Turner had been her closest friend, but now he has taken her sister away and wants to take her farm, too—believes he can since Claire has so successfully undermined Jo’s customer base. Jo would see him burn in Hell first.

And then there is Dee Pittman, a young girl turning into a woman, new to the village and just learning its history—the history of the Gillys and the Turners and the salt. Her mother dead and her father the new owner of the town diner, she comes to Prospect unwillingly, and never settles in or feels at home. She is fascinated with the red-haired, wealthy Claire, watching her closely, but yet covertly, each morning as Claire arrives for her morning coffee. This fascination extends to Claire’s husband, Whit, and the attention he pays to Dee ultimately sparks the explosion that uncovers long buried family secrets, rewrites old heartaches and brings an errant sister back home.

This sophomore effort by author Tiffany Baker is a complex tale of family, betrayal, guilt and revenge. I leave it up to the reader to decide whether there is redemption at the end of the story. Much of the novel is spent building the backstory of the current day’s affairs. As informative and important as that information is, it seemed at times to slow the progression of the narrative to a snail’s pace, leaving the resolution seeming hurried and perhaps a bit forced, the (for all practical purposes) epilogue somewhat pat.

Still, it is a richly woven tale that holds one’s interest. The characters are believable, their emotions and desires easy to identify and to identify with. The lushly described scenery and finely tuned relationship between the two sisters help cover the inconsistencies found in the storytelling itself. Those who enjoy the works of Anita Shreve, Maeve Binchy, and Alice Hoffman may find The Gilly Salt Sisters to their liking.
(less)

like · see review

Aug 30, 2012 Ste80 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Le parole lontane del fuoco", in pubblicazione in diversi paesi, è il romanzo di Tiffany Baker, edito dalla Casa Editrice Garzanti, che ha incantato tutta l'America piazzandosi nelle classifiche del «New York Times», del «San Francisco Chronicle», di «Usa Today», grazie al solo passaparola tra lettori.

A lettura conclusa sono lieta di poter condividere con voi le emozioni che mi hanno regalato queste pagine.
È un romanzo che ho assaporato a poco a poco e, permettetemi la similitudine, leggerlo è...more

like · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Joanna rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The first seventy pages of this book are quite good. The story is engrossing, and it moves quickly along. Unfortunately, the book is not just seventy pages long. It goes on, past the point of eagerly turning the pages, and unravels in a manner so completely uninspired that it feels like the author wrote this book in the manner of an ill conceived baking experiment - one where you just toss in anything you can think of, with no real consideration for how it's going to turn out as a whole.

Clare, t...more The first seventy pages of this book are quite good. The story is engrossing, and it moves quickly along. Unfortunately, the book is not just seventy pages long. It goes on, past the point of eagerly turning the pages, and unravels in a manner so completely uninspired that it feels like the author wrote this book in the manner of an ill conceived baking experiment - one where you just toss in anything you can think of, with no real consideration for how it's going to turn out as a whole.

Clare, the ostensible protagonist, is completely unlikable. In the first part of the book, she seems interesting, and the reader hopes that the story is going to be about her personal growth, or the ways in which she will become older and wiser. Spoiler Alert: it never happens. In a similar way, her husband is cast as the villain of the piece, but without any kind of depth, he is reduced to little more than a comic book caricature. If he turned up with a twirling mustache to tie someone to the train tracks, it would be no surprise.

The book builds to an ending that has the reader initially wondering how all the lose ends will be tied up, only to discover that they are not going to be tied so much as burned to the ground.

And, rather than have to pay any kind of price for 1)starting the fire that originally burned her sister so severely that she is now scarred over most of her body and has a glass eye 2) marrying a man that she did not love so that she could leave her family behind and have lots of money 3) doing her best to sink her sister's salt business 4) being generally horrible to everyone in town 4) seducing her ex-boyfriend who is now a priest 5) purposely and with malice aforethought burning down a salt barn again to 6) kill her husband and 7) also kill his mistress, albeit accidentally - she gets to live happily ever after with her ex-boyfriend who leaves the priesthood for her and raise the baby that the mistress gave birth to. In a word: ugh.

Also, the author seems to have trouble keeping track of the ages and emotions of the characters, which jump and change from page to page. The best thing about this book is its descriptions of the salt marsh, but as beautiful as they are, it still doesn't make this a worthwhile read. (less)

8 likes · like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Lydia Laceby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-must-read, contemporary-women-s-fiction

Originally reviewed at Novel Escapes

Full of family secrets, small town antics and an exploration of the family bond that keeps us together and repels us apart, The Gilly Salt Sistersis a mesmerizing read. Although it started a tad slow for me, especially as we started with a woman comes across as bitter and who was literally burned by life, I warmed up quickly to the women and their respective and intertwined plights and ended up really enjoying this read which was a pleasant surprise as I wasn’...more Originally reviewed at Novel Escapes

Full of family secrets, small town antics and an exploration of the family bond that keeps us together and repels us apart, The Gilly Salt Sistersis a mesmerizing read. Although it started a tad slow for me, especially as we started with a woman comes across as bitter and who was literally burned by life, I warmed up quickly to the women and their respective and intertwined plights and ended up really enjoying this read which was a pleasant surprise as I wasn’t entirely sure in the beginning.

This novel held a strong under tow. One minute I was bobbing along gradually, not really sunk deep into the story and suddenly I was drowning and unable to stop thinking about the sisters and their situations.

Much to my surprise I enjoyed the explanation and attention to detail that the salt was given in the story. It was incredibly unique and I had never really considered where salt came from or how it is produced and I enjoyed learning about it through the details given and appreciated that these never took over the story, but complimented it. It was a fine line as much of the story surrounded the Gilly’s salt farm, the magic of the Gilly salt and the towns love-hate relationship with it, but Baker balanced this exceptionally well.

These sisters tell it like it is. There is no sugar coating in this novel and there are a few scenes that are a little morbid at times, not to mention a bit shocking (cat lovers and religious folks, you may have a hard time digesting a few scenes and ideas within this novel). Their voices resonated as real and I could feel myself transported into their world and got swept away by this intense story.

The Gilly Salt Sisters kept me on my toes. Although easy to figure out a couple of the hidden truths, there was enough mystery involved to keep me reading to see how it would play out. I really rooted for the sisters, even though at times I didn’t even completely love their characters. They were quite bitter and hard to take at times, but their gradual changes over the course of the novel was enough to keep me rooting for them. In fact, pretty much everyone in the town is bitter, grouchy and unhappy but for some reason it’s not too depressing or over the top and is in fact a vital part of the sisters and their salt's story.

You can’t always outrun what you are or where you’ve come from and The Gilly Salt Sisters is a unique read that takes us on one such journey. I look forward to more from Tiffany Baker!
(less)

like · see review

Apr 22, 2012 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-favorite-writer, american-life, available-on-kindle, couldn-t-put-down, family-dynamics, feminist-literature, netgalley-read, new-author-for-me, paranormal, psychological, woman-writer, women-s-lit

The Gilly Salt Sisters takes place in a small New England town similar, if not just, Falmouth...near Woods Hole. Of course the original New England colonies were not only populated by puritans and those pious believers in the straight and narrow path, but they were seasoned by island peoples...slaves from the Caribbean, from Africa and from other exotic places where superstition and "witchcraft," magical and mystical things followed them. These characteristics were met with the same that underpi...more The Gilly Salt Sisters takes place in a small New England town similar, if not just, Falmouth...near Woods Hole. Of course the original New England colonies were not only populated by puritans and those pious believers in the straight and narrow path, but they were seasoned by island peoples...slaves from the Caribbean, from Africa and from other exotic places where superstition and "witchcraft," magical and mystical things followed them. These characteristics were met with the same that underpined some of those who fled England and Scotland, as well. In Massachusettes, Salem had experienced the witch trials...the areas of Cape Cod and up as far as Gloucester were aware of these things. The people of New England don't easily forget~it's in their blood. Who wouldn't be influenced by the Gilly Salt Sisters?

In this novel (and in actuality, as a matter of fact) the salt's unique properties, historic and mystical to begin with, were given a reverence~they were fraught with healing powers, the power to keep and preserve foods and meats, originally the power to exchange like money, to season cooked foods; and, quite mysteriously to change the well-being of businesses and the over all climates of the town. Only the Gilly family and specifically the Gilly women were capable of handling the harshness of the salt marsh, harvesting it and controlling the delivery of the salt throughout the town and region. They were afforded a sort of begruding prominence and fearsomeness in town. Their ability to throw their own bag of salt into the yearly, autumn bonfire to predict the future of the town in a sort of ancient festival, solidified the superstition and mysticism that surrounded them; that made them weird and outcast.

Within this confine of prejudice and their wild, muddy marsh of a farm life, Jo and Claire Gilly grew up and struggled with their fates along with their single mother. They are marvelous characters as different as Cain and Able. Jo the Abel of the two: dark-haired, faithful to the marsh and salt, protective of loved ones, strong and rough around the edges. And, Claire; the Cain, weak in spirit, red-haired and tempermental, selfish, working to tear down the salt and all it represents in the town and to her past. Gloriously well developed characters that stand up in realism. So real in fact, that you believe they're actual people.

Throughout the book we find abberations in the tale, however, that changes all perceptions. The men and women involved with the Gillys aren't always what they appear to be and the lives of the Gillys and townspeople overlap in a multitude of ways. All this causing their histories to intersect for good and for bad. This is a story rich in family dynamics of love and betrayal, mystery and revelation, mysticism and romance. The sea and the marshes that hem them in play against the gothic themes an cause the book to take on a dark tone...so like Poe in some instances.

Tiffany Baker knows how and when to pull the strings that deepen our connections with her characters and the momentum surrounding the Gilly Salt Sisters. The spector of mystery and revelation hangs before us as she builds and hints and drops us through Jo's discoveries. But even as the other charcters are brought in and layers are developed, we still remain in the dark until the climax of the book.

I love this kind of mystery mixed with a grand and sweeping tale of a family that mysteriously winds its way through a history. A family unwittingly repeating itself until somehow it finally finds a way to break the bond that held it captive. And through that freshly broken wound restores something of itself through a healing, a new trust, a new love and life of hope. Even though grief and punishment remain behind. Even though some of the connections are thin and come from wild roots.

The Gilly Salt Sisters is a great book in the order of a sort of Jane Smiley's "Thousand Acres," but I think it's richer and it's dug into more detail. I loved the book and hope you get a chance to read it very soon!

5 stars!!

Deborah/TheBookishDame
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 22, 2012 Nada rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...

The Gilly Salt Sisters is the story of a small Cape Cod Village called Prospect and the two most influential families - the Gilly and the Turners. The two families could not be more different. The Turners are the wealthy leaders of the town, shaping and changing the town on the basis of their wealth. The Gillys are a mother and two daughters, who are poor and live on the outskirts of town, and yet their salt farm holds a...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Autumn rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Gilly Salt Sisters was one of those books that took me FOREVER to read. I don't really know what it was about it. My overall feeling towards it was generally positive. It just wasn't one of those books that really grabbed me and held me and made me never want to put it down.

The book revolves around the mystical power of the salt that the Gilly family produces. This concept is never really fully explained though. Is it really magical or is the entire town just reacting as though it is? Are th...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2012 Stephanie rated it 1 of 5 stars

A beautiful cover for a dark and moody book where I did not forsee anything pleasant transpiring if I judged from the first seventy-five pages. The book was overwhelmed by a darkness that felt not at all like what I have experienced in Cape Cod nor living on a salt marsh in New England. Granted to a non-tourist, Cape Cod was, in the 1970s was probably a struggle.

Yet, I was holding out; something had to change. But a sad bitter character was then eclipsed by her bitter and vindictive sister, and...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Vicki rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Gilly family business is salt. For several generations they have owned the property in a remote village of Cape Cod where they have built pits to hold ocean water until salt crystals form on the tops of the pooled water. They then carefully rake off the crystals and store it to sell to other locals. This is back-breakingly hard work, and apparently not very lucrative, as they are behind in mortgage payments and unable to buy new clothes or hire any help.

Maybe, or maybe not, but the Gilly wom...more The Gilly family business is salt. For several generations they have owned the property in a remote village of Cape Cod where they have built pits to hold ocean water until salt crystals form on the tops of the pooled water. They then carefully rake off the crystals and store it to sell to other locals. This is back-breakingly hard work, and apparently not very lucrative, as they are behind in mortgage payments and unable to buy new clothes or hire any help.

Maybe, or maybe not, but the Gilly women are thought perhaps to be witches, having special gifts to predict the future based on their relationship with the element of salt. They are tolerated, but not really accepted, by the locals.

The premise of this story reminds me of tales of Appalachia, with dreams and unseen powers intermixing with the knowable, seeable world, though it is set in modern times on the East Coast.

The Gilly sisters of the title are Jo and Claire, two girls who could not be more different. Jo works hard and is very much depended on by her mother from early childhood. Claire is several years younger, fairer skinned, and avoids working in the salt pools whenever she can. Her goal is to get old enough to leave the salt fields and never come back.

The narrative begins after the girls are grown and then shifts between the present and the past to fill in the back stories. As adults, they are estranged from one another. Jo is now alone, working steadily at collecting the salt crystals, but Claire has married into the wealthiest family in town and is determined to spoil the reputation of her family's special salt in the minds of the locals. Her marriage to Whit, who had originally been Jo's boyfriend, has soured. Whit's main interest now is figuring out how to acquire the salt fields for himself, but secondarily, he is looking for some action on the side and begins a flirtation with the waitress at the local diner that results in a pregnancy.

Claire's habitual self-centeredness hits a momentary wall when she happens onto Whit and 18 year old Dee, the pregnant waitress, who is telling Whit of the pregnancy and urging him to run away with her. Whit is apparently willing to kill Dee to keep her quiet, and the diminutive Claire is able to stop him, effecting an improbable rescue when she gets Dee up on Claire's horse and takes her to Jo's...Claire's first time back in the house since her marriage.

The Gilly sisters and Dee then become a team of sorts to protect Dee's unborn child from it's father, and to save the salt farm and the family homestead. The mysterious and previously unknown sins of an earlier generation are eventually unveiled as the sisters reconnect and build a future for themselves that would have seemed impossible, but for the emotional, physical and financial hurdles that they face and overcome together.

Again, a complex story set in an improbable place in time...maybe 200 years ago instead of now would have flowed better for me. And a relatively minor point: I was annoyed by how many times the characters "scowled". I read an ARC version, so I hope the editor suggested that the author check a thesaurus and find some synonyms before the book was published for sale.(less)

like · see review

Apr 13, 2012 Regina Spiker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: salt, sisters, new-england, marshes, priests, fiction, magical-realism, magic, witch, cape-cod, enchanting

Two sisters many thought of as witches. Eerie salt marshes with secrets. Salt that not only changes the taste-buds but foretells the future. What is magic and what is real?

Jo, burnt and scarred from a barn fire, is the hardworking daughter of a salt marsh farmer - who was considered a witch herself. Her sister Claire, younger, burnt and broken from high-school romance, hates the salt and is willing to do almost anything to get away. Both fall for the same man, Whit Turner, whose family has run u...more

like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Jaime Boler rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker (Grand Central Publishing; 372 pages; $24.99).

Throughout history, salt has been an important commodity. Some argue it can be included as a contributing factor in the development of civilization. Salt preserved food and was a highly sought-after trade item. The Romans even built roads to make transportation of salt easier. We cannot then overemphasize its role in our society.

When salt gets in a wound, it stings. Yet, interestingly, mineral bath salts can...more

like · see review

Jan 21, 2013 Beth Peninger rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure if I actually liked this book or if it was just okay. The promise and potential was there but I don't feel like it delivered. In a lot of ways the book had hints of magic like another favorite author of mine does but it didn't capture and enthrall like that other author can do.
Jo and Claire are known for their salt. And their salt is magic - or so everyone believes. But they've had a falling out and Claire has tried to poison the town against the salt. But the salt cannot and will...more

like · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

From the very beginning of this book I questioned the whole premise of the "power" of the salt and the town's reluctant respect for it. (I kept thinking of parodies where the magical element would be flour/wheat or oregano or something.) The melodramatic, black and white portrayals of the characters and the Gillys' backstory felt manufactured and overwrought. If magical realism is going to work for me, an author has to entwine the magic with the setting and characters in such a way that it feels...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2012 Renee King - Hooks rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teens, adults

In a small town on the upper east coast lies the small town of Prospect, your normal coastal town with quaint little houses with their white or gray siding and cedar shingled roofs except this little town has a Salt Mill ran by the Gilly family. Well I shouldn't say family, because all Mr. Gilly is really good for is giving orders and drinking. It's Jo, Claire, Henry & their poor Mother that do all the back breaking scrapping, flooding, and hauling to keep the town full of needed salt. Even...more

like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Whitney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since the weather here was cold and rainy, a book set in a gloomy salt marsh sounded perfect. This book was so well written I could easily imagine the Gilly sisters and their old salt farm on the sandy marshes of Cape Cod. The characters are also very well written -- especially Jo. Though she's written as an old grump, her love for her family land and her sister shine through. She didn't feel like a martyr. Every character has pretty major flaws, but I empathized with them even though I loathed...more

like · see review

May 27, 2012 John Pappas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-challenge, fantasy-high-low-urban-fairie

A somber but not depressing piece of magical realism. The story's magic is really a rather mundane prophetic side-bar that moves the main story along - salt. The main story is about redemption, history, and family change over time. While sad, the story never lags into melancholy bleakness and remains delightfully bittersweet and hopeful right until the end. The overall conflict of the book is pragmatic - cursed perception vs. blessed, home safety vs. feral freedom, family vs. strangers, love vs....more

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Valentina rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful example of literary fiction with a touch of magical realism. There is just some really gorgeous writing in these pages which will captivate anyone who loves well written stories.
The characters are wonderfully crafted. We see them change and grow throughout the novel, ending in completely different places from where they started. That’s always satisfying for the reader. The Gilly sisters are fascinating to follow. Jo with her fierce independence and loyalty to the salt, and Cl...more

like · see review

Apr 13, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

Prospect is a small, isolated village on Cape Cod. For as long as anyone can remember the fate of the village depended on the salt it produced. Salt always harvested by the Gilly women. Joanna and Claire Gilly both understand the importance of the salt, but could not be further apart in their attitude towards it. Nor could they be any more different as sisters. As Claire marries into the (despised) Turner family (house perched on the top of the hill overlooking the village) and Jo stays on the s...more

like · see review

Nov 20, 2012 Andrea (Cozy Up With A Good Read) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

This review and others can be found on the blog Cozy Up With A Good Read

This book has been on my TBR list for awhile, so I'm glad that I finally found some down time to pick it up. I can gladly say that all my anticipation made this book worth the read, Baker did such a beautiful job with this story. I always love a family story with a great mystery behind it.

The town of Prospect is a small town where everybody knows you and it is hard to keep a secret (kind or reminds me of the town of Stars Ho...more This review and others can be found on the blog Cozy Up With A Good Read

This book has been on my TBR list for awhile, so I'm glad that I finally found some down time to pick it up. I can gladly say that all my anticipation made this book worth the read, Baker did such a beautiful job with this story. I always love a family story with a great mystery behind it.

The town of Prospect is a small town where everybody knows you and it is hard to keep a secret (kind or reminds me of the town of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls). Little towns like that have always been my dream place of living, I want to be somewhere where everyone knows everyone else and you always run into someone you know wherever you go.

Early on in the book you learn there is a mystery behind the salt, it seems to harbour some sort of magic and no one knows how or why (there is a rumour that the Gilly women are witches). I felt like the salt was the main part of the story for some time, it affected everyone around, the townspeople even had a bonfire every year where salt is thrown into the fire to determine what will come in the future (good, bad, love?). But there is also this huge family mystery, I was thinking this story was going to take a different turn than it actually did.

I really wanted to know what this big thing between the Turner family and Gilly family was, why do the two most important families in town hate each other. This is the big mystery of the story, there are secrets that are not known in the town. As the story continued on I really wanted to know more about the Turners and Gillys history and I had a bit of a guess of what some of it was but at the same time I was still pleasantly surprised by the reveal.

Baker's writing is amazing and she really draws you into the story of the Gilly women. I enjoyed how the story is told from the perspectives of these three different women all with a heart for Whit. Everything changes with the arrival of Dee and her father and this is how we learn a lot about the past of Prospect.

This is an emotional read at times as we watch the characters grow and learn that life is not always perfect. This book is on my list of recommended reads for those who enjoy a little mystery with their family drama.(less)

like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are some books that have beautiful writing, writing that just sucks you in from the start. Then there are other books that have a great story. I would say that this one has a good mixture of both, but it definitely is stronger in story rather than storytelling.

That being said, I really liked how the story jumped around. Not too much to confuse you, but just enough to keep you interested. And it didn't let you go on too long after it alluded to a *BIG* secret. (I hate it when books do that....more

like · see review

Mar 08, 2012 Gina rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Gilly sisters have a place in the town of Prospect that they don't really want. Being the keepers of the salt, but really what is so important about salt? This is not your typical, my family farms something story, the salt isn't a necessary item for livelihood to the town, but it is a necessity in that it holds power. The salt that the Gilly sisters tend, and sell has a power over them, and quite honestly the town as well.

This book has a focus on the lives of three women, Claire, Jo and Dee...more

like · see review

Jan 02, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

In her sophomore literary effort, Tiffany Baker explores life in a small town on the East Coast through the eyes of two sisters.
Jo is the eldest and is living the life as all of the Gilly women before her--as the one responsible for the salt. Scarred in a horrible accident by her sister Claire, Jo lives a relatively secluded life.
Claire left the salt farm for the biggest and wealthiest house in town. She left with Jo's ex-boyfriend and begins to tell everyone bad things about the salt.
When a...more

like · see review

Jun 25, 2012 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Since I love novels written by women about women, I suspected that I would enjoy this one. And I did. What was interesting to me is that I didn't really "like" any of the women characters. If I met them, I know I wouldn't be friends with them, but yet their human faults and characteristics drew me in and kept me reading. The other interesting factor of this novel is that usually the description on the book flap occurs pretty early on in the novel. In The Gilly Salt Sisters, two-thirds of the nov...more

like · see review

Aug 30, 2012 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maybe I missed something earlier in the book, but until the end, I had been slightly distracted as to what time period the story took place. There were some very old-fashioned sequences and ideals, but at the same time, I was sure it was current day. Surface it to say, this books spans the lifetime of two very different sisters.

Claire Gilly is a woman of the earth, she loves the Gilly Salt Creek Farm that she has grown up on in an isolated Cape Cod village called Prospect. The land and its trad...more

like · see review

Jul 04, 2012 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read The Gilly Salt Sisters quickly. Perhaps because I have just begun "summer vacation." The story reminds me of some of the novels by Alice Hoffman. One of the sisters has flowing red hair and the surface of one of the ponds turns red and produces red salt. Tiffany Baker's story takes place in a remote town on Cape Cod before it was discovered by the "summer people" of today. The salt air and harvested salt have magical healing properties, especially for the Gilly women. There is an annual...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (11)

More editions...

Genres

Magical Realism

12 users

Historical Fiction

10 users

Book Club

9 users

Fantasy > Magic

5 users

Contemporary

5 users

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

4 users

Adult

4 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

3 users

Romance

3 users

Womens Fiction

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Tiffany Baker

Tiffany Baker is the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. She lives outside San Francisco with her husband, three children, and tiny hyperactive dog. Her new novel, The Gilly Salt Sisters, will be released from Grand Central Publishing in March 2012.

More about Tiffany Baker...

Books by Tiffany Baker

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About De kleur van het ...

3 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Gilly Salt Sisters

“There was no etiquette guide in the universe that told you how to handle waking up in a house you'd fled from as a teenager with your estranged sister in one room accross the hall and your husband's pregnant teenage mistress in the other.” — 2 people liked it

“How do you tell the difference between carelessness and passion?" Claire asked as they paced back along the edge of the marsh. "Is there one? I meane, really, is there any way to love a person without the hell beat out of you for it?” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Gilly Salt Sisters
avg rating	preview: The Gilly Salt Sisters Goodreads rating: 3.37 (1251 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7912609-the-gilly-salt-sisters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301255425l/7912609.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7912609-the-gilly-salt-sisters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker[/url]

The Gilly Salt Sisters

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website