Above the Salt

 Above The Salt, a novel written by Katherine Vaz. Notes by Jeffrey Thomas, 14 April 2026.  Report for the Book Group at StJames Anglican Church.

An epic historical novel that sweeps through 80 years, from Madeira and all around

the United States. The term “above the salt” refers to an old English tradition about

the placement of the salt-cellar on a large dining table – people seated closer to the

host were “above the salt", socially-favored; by exclusion, those below the salt were

on a lower social level. This expression is reflected in the narrative indirectly, in its

theme of social distinctions that affect lives in tragic ways; and the author refers to

salt often, in relation to tears and to the ocean.

I was drawn to the novel by its Portuguese connection, and I enjoyed the language

and culture references; but the romantic love stories and the evocation of life in the

1800s propelled the narrative. Occasional poetic metaphorical passages evoked the

emotional state of the characters, and often (appropriately, in my view) jarred the

straight line of the narrative. We follow the triumphs and travails of our two main

characters, and resist the temptation to look ahead to see whether and how the two

lovers will reunite. Suffice it to say, it takes a long time, many miles of America, and

many tearful paragraphs. They manage to survive the many absurd social barriers

to such brown-skinned foreigners. It is, in the end, an American-immigrant success

story.

The acknowledgments section of the book describes the intensive historical research

that underpins the story and confirms the feeling of verisimilitude in the names and

places and products of the 1800s. A few of the more bizarre episodes were actually

lifted from historical accounts. I enjoyed the Portuguese language references,

particularly when describing our hero's time with countrymen “plaiting the air with the

swallowed sounds and ‘shh’ aspirations he recognized.” Ah yes, swallowed sounds

and 'sh’aspirations, indeed, we are struggling to learn!

1. The author says “a theme in the book is how descending into bitterness

can rot the soul.

” She notes that the character of Edward “required

many drafts before he emerged as flawed but likable.”

2. She carefully wove some characters to be mysteriously likable then

unlikable – which stood out to you? I was fascinated by Isaac Unthank,

the itinerant preacher; and brother Rui; and of course by Edward. The

mother Serafina seemed like a stereotype…or was that an archetype?

3. The novel moves from Madeira to mid‑19th‑century Illinois, including the

school for the deaf and Civil War battlefields. Which setting felt most alive

to you, and why? How does place function almost like a character?

My notes:

Katherine Vaz published Above the Salt November 2023. I first read it last March

(2025). …She says it was pitched (meaning, by her agent?) as Cold Mountain meets

Love in the Time of Cholera! She first got the idea for this when she was giving a

lecture at the Library of Congress, and learned of an exhibit there about the Madeira

expulsion of the Protestants, then applied for a grant to research the Portuguese

community in Illinois! Her father had roots in the Azores, and wrote a book about the

Portuguese in California. Her university roots were: she went to UCSantaBarbara

and UCIrvine (and apparently taught there as well), then wrote for the Harvard

Review and won a writing-fellowship there in 2005. She now resides in New York,

and in 2015 married Christopher Cerf, composer for Sesame Street!

Em Português esse livro é título A Linha Do Sal. Interestingly the blurb in

Portuguese focuses almost exclusively on the first few chapters – that take place in

Madeira – and does not even mention the US Civil War. But to me that version is a

better introduction to the book.

The author was a resident fellow at Harvard and Radcliffe. She notes that she

researched this book extensively, particularly the Civil War era; it shows in the lifelike

descriptions, both of Madeira's craggy landscape (the whistling language fit nicely

with the overall theme of sound) and the chaos and horrific mangled bodies of the

Civil War.

She wrote other books earlier:

1. Saudade, about an Azorean character in California, Clara Cruz, also deaf, in

which the author also wrote vividly about color and sound.

2. Mariana, about the nun who in the 1600s wrote “as cartas portuguesas” love

letters to a French officer.

3. Our Lady of the Artichokes and Other Portuguese-American Stories, from

2007, set in California – two of the stories were apparently separately made

into audiobooks

a. Lisbon Story, a SanFrancisco/Lisbon novella about AIDS

b. The Love Life of an Assistant Animator, set in CA not obviously about

Portugal

4. Earlier: Fado and Other Stories, an anthology of short stories from 1997

The title? At one point she called it Portuguese Night Blessing, then Below the

Salt. But that's less positive! The title refers to only the one scene at the

Lincoln house, but the book contains many other salt references; and the

author notes: The Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa has some superb lines

2about the sea being salty from all the tears shed on the beaches of Portugal,

meaning it is a culture of leaving and longing.

Characters, Love, and Choices

I certainly enjoyed the Portuguese cultural and linguistic references, and the

immigrant process. For example: It took a few years for the Reis family to

translate their name to King and for Diogo Teixeira to turn into James

DeShara. The Pereira clan became the Perrys. There was so much English

still to learn: Snow. Slavery. Stun.

Another sample of 1860s culture was this description of a marvelous product:

the size of the little roosters inside those peek-hole Easter eggs that were

coated with glitter and trimmed with ridges of pastel frosting. If you looked

inside, you saw a tiny farmhouse with a tiny heart on its roof, and those minute

barnyard hens and chicks and that rooster beside it, and who could say why it

touched you so.

It is a long book. In one interview, the author noted “Images flow out easily…I

worked on driving the momentum of the story.

” A hint that she had some

trouble keeping the momentum going! She said it was originally over 500

pages, edited down to 400! She says this is a love story (will they be united

despite all that's in their way?) but also about America (individual? Or

interwoven community), and about social jealousies that keep us apart. And

about how people endure long separations. She cites as a model “Love in the

Time of Cholera”

.

A historical note she found from the Lincoln library: Lincoln once represented

a Madeiran man whose brother-in-law sought to deny him the right to property

based on his race.

The primary character, around whom the author wove the novel, was John

Alves, a real person whose interview at the Lincoln Library at age 80

stimulated her imagination–she notes that the gap between known history and

imagination is where fiction lives: he was mustered out of the Union Army as

an invalid in 1864 in Jacksonville, then in 1865 traveled out west. She wrote

into that gap.

How would you describe the bond between John and Mary at different stages of

the novel—childhood, separation, reunion? Does their relationship feel like fate,

persistence, or a series of choices?

3Mary faces a choice between Edward’s proposal and her passion for John. Do

you see Edward as a true alternative, or more of a social and economic safety

net? What do you think Mary owes herself in that moment?

John wrestles with whether to join the Union army or stay and build a life with

Mary. Do you see his decision as courageous, selfish, necessary, or something

else? How does the novel define what it means to be a “good man”?

Which secondary character (for example, members of their families, people

around Lincoln, or community figures in Illinois) did you find most compelling, and

why? How do these side characters sharpen your understanding of John and

Mary?

By the end, do you feel the novel ultimately portrays love as redemptive, tragic, or

complicated in a more realistic way? What moments most shaped your answer?

Faith, Exile, and Identity

The book is rooted in religious violence between Catholics and Protestants in

Madeira. How did reading about this particular conflict affect your understanding

of religious persecution more broadly?

When John and Mary become refugees in Illinois, what parts of their Portuguese

identity do they cling to, and what do they adapt or leave behind? Where do you

see tension between survival and staying true to their roots?

The title Above the Salt echoes ideas of status, privilege, and who gets a place at

the table. In what ways do you see social and religious hierarchy operating in the

novel? Who gets to sit “above the salt,

” and who is kept below?

How does immigration shape each character differently? Do John and Mary

respond to exile in similar ways, or do they internalize the experience differently

in terms of ambition, fear, and hope?

Did the novel change or deepen your sense of the Portuguese diaspora in the

United States? Were there details of language, food, or community life that stood

out as especially vivid or surprising?

History, Politics, and Setting

What did you make of the way Abraham Lincoln and his household appear in the

story? Does the use of a famous historical figure enhance the central love story,

distract from it, or serve a specific thematic purpose?

4How does the Civil War shape the characters’ sense of belonging? Do John and

Mary ever feel fully American, or do they remain outsiders even as they

participate in American history?

In what ways does the novel ask readers to think about loyalty—loyalty to

country, to faith, to family, to one’s own heart? Where do these loyalties come

into conflict, and which ones win?

If you’ve read other historical fiction set in the Civil War era, how does Above the

Salt compare in its perspective and focus? What did it show you that you haven’t

seen emphasized before?

Style, Symbolism, and Structure

Katherine Vaz is often praised for her “lyrical” or “hallucinogenic” prose. Did you

notice passages where the language itself slowed you down or swept you along?

How did the style affect your emotional engagement with the story?

Did the book’s pacing work for you—especially given it’s described as “episodic

yet sweeping”? Were there sections that felt particularly absorbing or sections

that dragged, and why do you think that is?

What symbols or recurring images did you notice (for example, the miracle-berry

fruit, plants and gardens, salt, ocean imagery)? How does that image evolve

over the course of the novel.

The novel is based on real historical figures and events, but fills in “blank spaces”

with imagination. How did knowing it was inspired by a true story affect your

reading experience? Did you ever wonder where history ended and invention

began?

If you could ask Katherine Vaz one craft question about how she constructed this

story—its time jumps, its balance of romance and history, or its point of

view—what would you ask?

Personal Reflection and Book Club Wrap‑Up

Which scene has stayed with you the most since finishing (or while reading)

Above the Salt, and why do you think it lodged in your mind?

Did you feel more drawn to the intimate love story or to the broader history of

persecution, migration, and war? How did those two threads work together—or

not—for you?

5Were there any moments when you felt frustrated with John or Mary’s decisions?

If you could step into the story and give one of them advice at a turning point,

what would you say?

How does this book speak to our present moment—around migration, religious

intolerance, or questions of belonging—even though it’s set in the 19th century?

If your club were to recommend Above the Salt to another group, how would you

pitch it in one or two sentences, and who do you think would appreciate it most?

Quotes:

She no longer trusted magical outcomes. It was refreshing to meet someone who

believed that pardon could not be easily accorded, that it required more than idle

words.

Invent a war in the style of salt plowed, so no root can push up.

Meridian, Madeira, eerie how similar the names.