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allena_inwonderland'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
This book is a multi generational storyline with multiple POVs. This is full of cultural information and traditions.
There's forbidden love, fear for loss of your home - forever or and your family.
I cried and I laughed.
This isn't an easy read but it honestly opened my eyes on what life is like for others in the Middle East especially during war; when my dad was overseas during these specific wars I was barely a child. Although this is a fiction book you can still learn from it through experience.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Sexual violence
lchatham9'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War and Torture
rachelfayreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Torture, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Xenophobia, War, Racism, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
cannancan412'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Islamophobia, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
We must open our eyes to more perspectives of people's lives than just the ones the USA wants us to believe.littleredmacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and War
morethanmylupus'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
4.0
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.
Graphic: Islamophobia, Murder, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Deportation, Police brutality, War, Violence, Racial slurs, and Colonisation
thenextbookdilemma'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Genocide, Murder, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body shaming, and Racial slurs
shay43geek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
eas2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Minor: Racial slurs
apple_atcha_reading'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? It's complicated
5.0
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.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Colonisation, Terminal illness, War, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Racism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Xenophobia