Saltwater: Winner of the Portico Prize

By: Jessica Andrews

Narrated by: Natalie Jamieson

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Shortlisted for the Portico Prize.

When Lucy wins a place at university, she thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars, cool girls and neon lights illuminating the Thames at night.  

At least this is what Lucy expects, having grown up seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland, amid legendary family stories of Irish immigrants and boarding houses, now-defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market.   

Yet Lucy's transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from East London warehouses to South Kensington mansions, she still feels like an outsider among her fellow students. When things come to a head at her graduation, Lucy takes off for Ireland, seeking solace in her late grandfather's cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it, wondering if she can piece together who she really is.   

Lyrical and boundary breaking, Saltwater explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the challenges of shifting class identity and the way that the strongest feelings of love can be the hardest to define.

©2019 Jessica Andrews (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"This book is sublime. It dares to be different, to look in a different way. Andrews is not filling anyone's shoes, she is destroying the shoes and building them from scratch." (Daisy Johnson)

Great listen!

Bought this to impress a guy - it didn't work, however the book is actually really good 😊

not my thing at all

I really hated this. Didn't like the content, and not a fan of the actors delivery, Felt like one long sainsburys ad. Couldn't finish, I would have left one star but that's totally not fair if you haven't finished the book, hence 3 stars. Felt VERY pretentious, an attempt at poetry which worked for some people, (which is great that they enjoyed it) but I just felt it fell flat, and I hated the constant references to very mundane experiencs, constant attempts at relatability? I just didn't get it, didn't get the point, it jumped around so much there was no leading me towards any story, and I already hated the writing style so much.

Beautiful Listen

I devoured this book. Wonderfully performed and some really poignant thoughts on the world. Will look out for other titles by this author.

Annoying numbering of very short chapters.

Probably a great read, but as an audiobook I found the verbal numbering of the extremey short chapters intefered with the enjoyment of listening. Had to return it.

Like a novel length poem

Absolutely beautiful: written and read so lyrically as to be almost lulling. An incredibly talented writer and new literary star.

Loved this

This is a rare treat! Totally hooked from the start. The narration is spot on and I felt so tuned into the book that when I’d finished listening I just wanted to hear it all over again in case I’d missed anything.

Loved it. Want to listen again immediately

Fabulous. So much reasonated with me. As someone else said so many quotable lines. Fab narration too

Moving and majestic

Rarely does a book touch me as much as saltwater did... a reminder of the stark and complex realities of family life. A juggling of north-south feelings.

unique

Unique style of writing, short sharp chapters jumping back and forth through time. reads like poetry in places.