Sugar and Salt: A Novel

The first third of this book sets up an idyllic love story between Margot Salton and Jerome Sugar, neighboring business owners (hers: a barbecue joint; his: a bakery) who meet by proximity but fall for each other due to much stronger forces. Susan Wiggs’ Sugar and Salt, though, becomes an entirely different book when Margot—born Margie Salinas—is forced to confront the secrets of her past.

Margot’s history involves rape, a corrupt police force that protects her rapist, and a difficult choice she must make. The recounting of this part of her life is heavy-handed with moralizing and ridiculous behavior that makes one wonder if Wiggs has ever met a rape survivor. There are exchanges and choices made by characters that are simply fantastical to the nth degree and offensive given what many women go through after coming forward to report their rape.

Wiggs can write well; I’ve loved every other book I’ve read by her. Perhaps my aversion to this plot twist is influenced by current events more than it should be, but sandwiching the pain of a brutal rape between a thwarted interracial love affair during the Vietnam era and a burgeoning love story didn’t sit well with me. Ultimately, Sugar and Salt left a bad taste in my mouth.