The Book of Salt his place in the household hierarchy." The book uses salt and its many connotations to connect themes of love and redemption. Food also adds to the meaning of salt in this context. Truong herself states that "Food or the preparation of food, at its best, is a profound act of intimacy." Salt also implies homosexuality in terms of the Biblical connotation of salt, in particular to the turning of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt for looking back at her home, to the city of Sodom. This is an implication that God not only disapproves the activities of the
The City and the Pillar of which is reinforced by the novel's epigraph from the Book of Genesis 19:26 "But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt." "The City and the Pillar" sparked a public scandal, including notoriety and criticism, not only since it was released at a time when homosexuality was commonly considered immoral, but also because it was the first book by an accepted American author to portray overt homosexuality as a natural behavior. The controversial reception began before the novel hit bookshelves. Prior to its even being published, an editor at EP Dutton said to