Book Review: The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

‘The Salt Grows Heavy’ by Cassandra Khaw was released in 2023. It is a unique blend of horror and dark fantasy, exploring darker themes through supernatural entities and grotesque violence.

There are two main characters, neither of whom are named, The Plague Doctor and The Mermaid, who meet in the fallout of some kind of catastrophe, and venture somewhere else. During their journey onward, the unlikely companions encounter children in the woods, who go running through a clearing. They are horrified to witness the gory murder of one child at the hands of the other. Spurred on by the gratuitous violence and their strong sense of justice, The Plague Doctor seeks retribution for the dead child. In the wake of the child’s death, the children lead the unlikely companions into the clutches of what seems like a cult, led by three physicians who are searching for immortality, and have these children worshipping them, hailing them as saints as they are murdered and resurrected time and time again.

These physicians just so happen to have raised The Plague Doctor, too. And so, The Mermaid and The Plague Doctor exact a plan to force these children to see the truth…

I did like this book – however, it took me a while to get into it. I feel like one of the main issues I had, which particularly limited how immersed I got into the story itself was the way Khaw uses language. Her vast expansive vocabulary shone throughout the introduction, however, despite being a competent wordsmith myself, I consistently found myself having to stop reading and look up definitions. I felt like this was a hindrance to my reading experience as her use of language made the prose inaccessible.

From the third sentence, just as you are being ensnared by the hook of dialogue, readers would be struck by the scope of Khaw’s vocabulary, and in that sentence alone, I had to Google two definitions, both of which would have been just as impactful with synonyms. This continues through the prose and did manage to draw my ire at times, as I was being thrust from the action, questioning what a word meant.

Despite my issue with the language, I did enjoy the events of the story, and was particularly taken with how Khaw chose to structure her book. By throwing readers into the immediate fallout of an event, readers could be whisked away with the action, and question how the event came to be throughout, and instead of beginning the story with exposition and lore, you are baited to ask the same questions as the characters of exactly what the main character, a mermaid is. By Khaw answering these questions at the end, readers aren’t bogged down by lore or worldbuilding, and readers are left with a jaw-dropping understanding. I think this choice was incredibly clever and impactful. As a writer myself, I was very impressed by her choice. It was powerful and the best way forward.

I am not the biggest fan of short fiction, mostly due to struggling to write it well myself. But this was incredibly tightly written, with a well-resolved arc, and clear-cut characters with strong motives. Khaw’s penchant for eloquence was very powerful when describing violence and gore, and although I would consider reading more of her work in the future, I believe that it can and likely will limit her prospective readership.

I don’t know if I would actively recommend this book, but I believe that Khaw’s clever structure will stick with me. I would definitely say that if this genre is up your alley, this could be worth a read. Who knows, it could be your new favourite book?