Book Buzz: Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei
I’ve always considered myself a pragmatic optimist, and part of that is my day job. My career has been in government. And I think you kind of have to be a bit of an optimist to sort of throw your entire life into that, because if you don’t believe that the world can be better, then what are you doing? What are you doing with your life? So I like to say that working in government is sort of trying to think about what the world should be, and science fiction is sort of like thinking about what the world could be. And so there’s sort of an interesting intersection between the two. So, yeah, no, I think I’m fundamentally an optimist, but obviously, it’s hard to be in this world and not see everything that’s going on and feel very concerned. And so I think that’s where the little bits of darkness come in.
― Yume Kitasei, Interview, Reader Tangents
What booksellers are saying about Saltcrop
- An odyssey of sisterhood and isolation in a near-dystopian world that seems to look back on our own as its logical predecessor. Nora and her research have gone missing. In their search to find her, her sisters Carmen and Skipper are pulled into the controversy and corruption surrounding the monopolistic agri-corp she worked for. Kitasei blends the literary and speculative in this environmentally-focused thriller, an urgent reflection on the corporate greed that precipitates ecological disaster.
― Flora Arnsberger, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY
- Saltcrop is a beautiful story about the bonds of sisterhood, set against the backdrop of our world ravaged by climate change! The story was atmospheric and compelling with gorgeous writing. This was my first book by this author, and I am so excited to read their backlist!
― Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY
- A uniquely hopeful and relatable post climate apocalypse epic about two sisters who embark on a perilous journey by sea to rescue the third sister from the arctic company town where they believe her to be imprisoned. While its examination of the sisters’ relationships is the pulse of this dystopian adventure (eldest daughters will find much to identify with in the character of Nora), it’s also a tribute to stubborn human determination, and a fond, battleworn wish that we can find ways to thrive after the end of the world.
― Kat Leache, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee | BUY
- Kitasei presents a future all too imaginable where people’s lives are impacted and controlled by climate change and big agriculture. Even in a broken world the audacious acts of love by Skipper, Carmen and Nora provide a gritty hope that change is still possible. Like a seed that can crack stone don’t underestimate how small acts can make huge impacts. Saltcrop and stories like it make me hopeful for how the average person is going to weather an increasingly changeable and hostile world. There is a spelling error on page 363. “Sounds like [t]he Bumblebee”
― Holly Wunsch, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY
About Yume Kitasei
Yume Kitasei is the author of Saltcrop , The Stardust Grail, and The Deep Sky. She is Japanese and American and grew up in a space between two cultures—the same space where her stories reside. She lives in Brooklyn with two cats, Boondoggle and Filibus
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What I really enjoy about writing love stories is the little moments that feel just as important as the big love declarations. I think it’s the acts of service, the little thoughtful things that each character will do for the other. In each of my books, there’s a moment that I can narrow down to, of consideration and thoughtfulness in a physical, tangible way. The way that Bo [Out on a Limb] goes about splitting their expenses. It’s not a grand declaration of love, but it’s respect, and it’s an understanding and communication, and it’s showing somebody who is really capable of having awkward conversations when wanting to take care of somebody. And wanting to look after someone with respect in mind. Or like Caleb in Out of the Woods, when Sarah is upset because they’re going camping and they don’t have any electricity. She doesn’t bring her Kindle, but he brings it, and he buys her a solar charger. It’s this little way of like letting someone know that they’re seen and their past influences matter
