Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
"What is a life? A series of yeses and noes, photographs you shove in a drawer somewhere, loves you think will save you but that cannot. Continuing to move, enduring, not stopping even when there is pain. That's all life is, he wants to tell her. It's continuing."
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
i have a bit of an obsession with books set in the Middle East especially the kind that just let me observe people’s lives. Salt Houses was exactly that. I went in expecting war stories, gut-wrenching heartache, maybe some tragic lost love, something with a big overarching plot... but that’s not what this book is. And weirdly, I didn’t mind.
It’s quiet. Intimate. No major emotional highs or lows. No laughter, no heartbreak that wrecks you. But still, I loved it. I’m a sucker for a good generational “slice of life” story set in the Middle East. Something about seeing the everyday, family dynamics, traditions, identity feels like a window into a world I’m close to, but also totally removed from.
You’ll probably never catch me giving a book like this a low rating. I crave stories like this, maybe because of my own ties to the region. It didn’t blow me away, but it grounded me. And sometimes, that’s more than enough.
It’s quiet. Intimate. No major emotional highs or lows. No laughter, no heartbreak that wrecks you. But still, I loved it. I’m a sucker for a good generational “slice of life” story set in the Middle East. Something about seeing the everyday, family dynamics, traditions, identity feels like a window into a world I’m close to, but also totally removed from.
You’ll probably never catch me giving a book like this a low rating. I crave stories like this, maybe because of my own ties to the region. It didn’t blow me away, but it grounded me. And sometimes, that’s more than enough.
I found a home in each of the characters. Truly a magnificent read.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
2024
After getting this book in Nov 2023, I tried reading it. Got 45% in, then got into a reading slump, marked it as paused after a few months.
2025
I restarted the book, wanting to refresh my memory upon reading it.
The end is bittersweet. It comes full circle, and it's mournful because you think of all they've lost, the memories, the connections to Palestine, lots to the occupation and time. But also what they still have - family, memory, songs, continuing still. Continuing with life despite it all.
This book reminds me of why I love intergenerational novels so much - the ocnnections that ripple through time and generations. And this family, displaced over and over, are still loving, still persisting.
It's the kind of book that I just need to sit with and feel after.
After getting this book in Nov 2023, I tried reading it. Got 45% in, then got into a reading slump, marked it as paused after a few months.
2025
I restarted the book, wanting to refresh my memory upon reading it.
The end is bittersweet.
This book reminds me of why I love intergenerational novels so much - the ocnnections that ripple through time and generations. And this family, displaced over and over, are still loving, still persisting.
It's the kind of book that I just need to sit with and feel after.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
really good family narrative, like a more expansive cazalet chronicles across the middle east