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blynn817's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Death
Minor: Dementia, Xenophobia, and War
lexcellent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Islamophobia, Murder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, War, Violence, and Torture
knaappers's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: War, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexual assault
palejandro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Violence, War, and Religious bigotry
sineadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Death, Xenophobia, Racism, War, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Islamophobia, and Police brutality
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
robinks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Dementia, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Terminal illness, Torture, and Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Rape, Murder, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death of parent, War, Drug use, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Death, Genocide, Islamophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Racial slurs, Alcohol, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
amandaisok's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Abandonment
turtlebrainlibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
The writing is lyrical and easy to follow. You will find many wonderful quotes as you read the book. The narrative does jump between each character, but we do get to see those characters grow and change in the other perspectives, so they are well rounded. It is a character driven novel, which I enjoy.
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism and Torture
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Salt Houses beautifully raw story about a Palestinian family spread across the world after the Six Day War in 1967. We follow four generations of this family as they grapple with the enormous loss of being forced to leave Palestine and have to continue their lives elsewhere.
Hala Alyan’s writing is absolutely incredible, it’s lyrical and elegant and I underlined so many powerful quotes while reading. Through her captivating prose, Alyan is able to weave a story of four generations, centering on the relationships between mothers, and daughters and sisters.
We see how they are impacted by Israel’s violence against their family and land for decades after and how the loss of their homeland shaped their lives. This is a story of loss and grief, but we also see these characters in their most tangibly human moments. They grow up, they find love, have children, get old. There is sorrow but there is also joy and love.
Each member of the family carries the memory of Palestine with them in a different way, they are shaped by it but each of their lives takes a different path. I found myself attached to each character for different reasons, they were all so vivid and human I couldn’t help but be drawn in. Even if I disliked particular characters I was fascinated by them and resonated with their messiness and imperfections.
Salt Houses is such an incredibly impactful story about life, loss and family and I urge everyone to read it.
Moderate: Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
Minor: War, Violence, Genocide, and Fatphobia
sarahalesbrittain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: War, Rape, and Death