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chadtrim's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alalex's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVED Salt Houses, and this had so much of what I loved about Salt Houses, PLUS.
mariew11's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
susannah_knox's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Oh man I loved this book. Started as a contemporary realistic story of a family whose lives are spread across the US, Lebanon, and Syria, reminding me a lot of Americanah. Then took a turn into a multigenerational family saga that really brought every family member to life.
thisreadingcorner's review against another edition
4.0
The Nasr family have long spread out when Idris (Lebanese dad) decides that it is time to sell the family home and ropes Mazna (Syrian mom) into corralling their children back to Beirut for a final farewell to both their grandfather and the Nasr home.
The kids:
-Ava is an academic in real need of a vacation from her life in New York and her marriage, just not in the way she expected.
-Mimi, overgrown Pete Wentz wannabe in Austin, is grappling with his musical dreams collapsing down to a mostly local band. On the personal front, he at least has suckered a woman willing to endure the endless scrutiny of his family and his many shenanigans.
-Naj, the family celebrity, is living out her wild life as a musician in Beirut and not exactly thrilled to see the family converge on her home base.
Their parents Idris and Mazna are forty years into a mutually destructive marriage of inconvenience laden in secrets, guilt, and manipulation. Mess of the highest order and for sure the most compelling part of the narrative aside from Naj as a person.
I flew through this in part by necessity (I absolutely did read it all the day of my book my book club meeting) but also out of curiosity - after a lengthy and slow intro to the various places and people behind the Nasr family, Halan gets into the meat of the story and I was ensnared.
Recommended for fans of a multigenerational mess, anyone looking for a fictional but very much realistic book by a Palestinian author, and readers with the patience to get through longer than ideal context setting. I would read more by the author for sure and I’ll pretend there’s an alternate universe version where Zakaria gets everything he deserved.
The kids:
-Ava is an academic in real need of a vacation from her life in New York and her marriage, just not in the way she expected.
-Mimi, overgrown Pete Wentz wannabe in Austin, is grappling with his musical dreams collapsing down to a mostly local band. On the personal front, he at least has suckered a woman willing to endure the endless scrutiny of his family and his many shenanigans.
-Naj, the family celebrity, is living out her wild life as a musician in Beirut and not exactly thrilled to see the family converge on her home base.
Their parents Idris and Mazna are forty years into a mutually destructive marriage of inconvenience laden in secrets, guilt, and manipulation. Mess of the highest order and for sure the most compelling part of the narrative aside from Naj as a person.
I flew through this in part by necessity (I absolutely did read it all the day of my book my book club meeting) but also out of curiosity - after a lengthy and slow intro to the various places and people behind the Nasr family, Halan gets into the meat of the story and I was ensnared.
Recommended for fans of a multigenerational mess, anyone looking for a fictional but very much realistic book by a Palestinian author, and readers with the patience to get through longer than ideal context setting. I would read more by the author for sure and I’ll pretend there’s an alternate universe version where Zakaria gets everything he deserved.
prachibhutada's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Edit: I find a lot lacking when I reread this book when I am mentally calmer.
1. There are no sustained female friendships, or ANY friendships. All the women characters are jealous of each other.
2. The one Palestinian character central to the story dies. His absence is his role in the narrative.
3. Super heteronormative patriarchal narrative structure including the one lesbian character. Mazna sacrifices her career for family and is supposed to be loved for that.
4. For a story that hinges on class disparity and class blindness, we see little to no depiction of lower class life. We have no insight into regular, middle class family’s work situation.
Old Review:
A case study in weaving political history, social realities, timelines—past and future—immigration, cultural differences, belonging, grief and whatnot. The characters are so complex. There is no one you can love or hate completely. The prose is lyrical. And the plot feels like a swirl, with changing povs and voices in each chapter. Smartly placed place and time marks make the shift from one character’s voice to another seamless.
1. There are no sustained female friendships, or ANY friendships. All the women characters are jealous of each other.
2. The one Palestinian character central to the story dies. His absence is his role in the narrative.
3. Super heteronormative patriarchal narrative structure including the one lesbian character. Mazna sacrifices her career for family and is supposed to be loved for that.
4. For a story that hinges on class disparity and class blindness, we see little to no depiction of lower class life. We have no insight into regular, middle class family’s work situation.
Old Review:
A case study in weaving political history, social realities, timelines—past and future—immigration, cultural differences, belonging, grief and whatnot. The characters are so complex. There is no one you can love or hate completely. The prose is lyrical. And the plot feels like a swirl, with changing povs and voices in each chapter. Smartly placed place and time marks make the shift from one character’s voice to another seamless.
annabelmaciolek's review against another edition
I enjoyed this but it was a bit slow for my current reading tastes. I will definitely return to it!
jgverrero's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My third and favorite Alyan book. I'm going to a a super quick review for this one, although there are endless words I can give it. Basically, YES, absolutely read this asap.
I absolutely loved this family saga. The characters were dynamic and incredibly, heartbreakingly human.
All of critiques of Salt Houses were redeemed here. Alyan is an automatic read author for me now.
I absolutely loved this family saga. The characters were dynamic and incredibly, heartbreakingly human.
All of critiques of Salt Houses were redeemed here. Alyan is an automatic read author for me now.
aliceofbattenberg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0