Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Salt Houses

I loved getting to walk with the Yacoub family through so many years, getting to see how each of them grows internally and in relationship to the others. I believe the fact that Hala is a clinical psychologist allowed the characters to feel real. Also, there were many actual historical references that kept the story rooted in reality.

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eslsilver's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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geeoriginal's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

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rachelfayreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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morethanmylupus's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Beautiful, timely, and heartbreaking.

Salt Houses is a family saga that follows Aila and her family from the Nakba through to nearly the present day. We see triumphs and disappointments as they do their best to survive. For me, the biggest impact of this book was the generational trauma that started with the Nakba and how it continued to impact their lives even as they moved across continents.

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apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Following 5 generations of the Yacoub family, we begin with Salma, the matriarch of the Yacoub family, on the eve of her daughter Alia's wedding to Atif. Salma read the dregs of Alia's tea cup, and sees a hard life, full of instability, loss, and uncertainty. Not wanting to ruin the beautiful wedding, Salma keeps this from her daughter. Shortly following the wedding, the Six Day War of 1967 breaks out; Atif and Salma's son, Mustafa, remain behind to fight.

This is merely the beginning of frequent uprooting, uncertainty, loss, and trauma for the Yacoub family. We follow their movements from the beginning of thr Six Day War, all the way to the near lresent day of 2014 where the Middle East is still in perpetual conflict. Each generation of the Yacoub family through one way or another is sent into exile from what they have come to know as their home, although each character mentions they have no real concept of home or belonging. They are refugees before they are born, and their children inherit their trauma and loss without anyone truly realizing at the time.

The way Alyan crafts such well rounded characters made me want to hug them, hit them, scream at them, comfort them all at the same time. They were real people; complicated but trying their best under the circumstances of their heritage and birth through no wrong doing on their part. Each generation became more and more separated from their lives and connection to Palestine. At times, the younger generations attempt to explain their ethnicity and home country to American or European friends, but they don't understand. How can you be one thing if you've never been there, and you're not this thing even thought you were born there? Each generation was an excellent example of no matter how hard you try, you can't escape your family and their past. The trauma of simply being Palestinian followed each member of the Yacoub family, even those born in Europe or America. They fall into the same patterns and mannerisms, all attempting to cope with never ending war and repeated displacement and never truly belonging for a number of reasons.

All in all, this was an excellent read about one family's generational trauma, but also their resilience and tenacity to overcome and return to their home, wherever that may be for them.

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