The Salt Eaters

The Salt Eaters (1980) by Toni Cade Bambara is set in the fictional town of Claybourne, Georgia, in the late 1970s. The style of the novel is experimental and nonlinear. It follows stories and characters linked by themes more than plot. It moves between the past, present, and future in the minds and actions of different characters. The novel centers on the spiritual healing Velma receives from Minnie after a mental health crisis and spirals outward to detail the lives of many people. It won the American Book Award in 1981.

The novel draws upon the author’s experiences in academic and activist communities. Bambara taught at City College of New York, Rutgers University, Emory University, Atlanta University, and other institutions. She participated in the Black Arts Movement, co-founded the Southern Collective of African American Writers, and highlighted the issues that Black women face. These real-life experiences, as well as Bambara’s professional experience in social work and psychiatric care, inform the themes of the work.

This guide cites the 1992 Vintage Contemporaries Edition.

Content Warning: This novel includes extensive discussions of mental health conditions, especially suicide. This guide refers to, but does not quote, some of the author’s uses of the n-word.