In Salt in the Wounds, Mark Blagrave reminds us of the dynamic, elementary, and precipitous relationship that people share with this simple molecule, and with each other. In "Transit of Venus," a couple resort to salt as an ancient, folk-medicine, fertility aid; in "Rupert and Sophia," online-auction bidding rivals bond over their rare, shared admiration for the beauty of an ornate salt cellar; in "Ageusia," a woman's relationship with a chef dissolves over her sudden inability to taste salt; and in "Love You Like Salt," old friends become more than just that as they trade folk-tales about salt's role in love and life.