“The flavour of life is love. The salt of life is also love.”
— Mariama Bâ · 1929 – 1981Source: So Long a Letter, p. 64 (English edition) · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The wording appears in the English translation of Mariama Bâ’s novel So Long a Letter, within Ramatoulaye’s letter about Daouda Dieng’s return.
- What remains uncertain
- The evidence verifies the line in the English translation; exact phrasing in the French original and translator details require further consultation.
Understanding the quote
In So Long a Letter Mariama Bâ uses food metaphors to say love both flavors and seasons life: it creates richness and, like salt, makes the ordinary matter. The line comes from Ramatoulaye’s intimate letter, where love is weighed against betrayal, duty and dignity.
In the original · French
La saveur de la vie, c’est l’amour. Le sel de la vie, c’est aussi l’amour.
The story behind it
So Long a Letter won the first Noma Prize for Publishing in Africa in 1980, boosting Bâ’s international recognition.
Going further
- The era
- In 1979, West African writers probed postcolonial change, gender and social norms.
- The thinking
- Bâ’s view is practical humanism: love matters for fulfillment, but should not justify losing respect, independence or solidarity with other women.
- Key word
- Female solidarity: women supporting each other as an alternative to unequal social roles.
- Who quoted it
- The sentence is widely reproduced across online quotation sites and essays on African women’s writing.
Three challenges to live it
In the app, you pick the one that fits your day, and in the evening you say how it went.
Sit quietly for 5 minutes, close your eyes, recall a recent loving gesture, and note three bodily sensations tied to that memory.
The quote likens love to flavor and salt; noticing physical responses to a loving memory helps you experience how love seasons ordinary life.
Write a micro-poem (4–6 lines) comparing love to a spice or salt; begin with “Love is...” and let the image shape the ending.
The quote uses food metaphors; turning it into poetry forces you to explore concretely how love flavors and seasons life, making the idea vivid.
Send a message or call someone to thank them for a small act that 'gave flavour' to your life; name the action and the effect specifically.
The quote says love seasons life: acknowledging a concrete caring act makes that truth real and strengthens the ties that make ordinary moments matter.
How does love add meaning to your life without costing your self-respect?
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