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taratearex's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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? No
5.0
This was so good. A multi-generational family saga about a family forced out of their home in Palestine, multiple times, and then following their life throughout the diaspora and many more wars. The book starts in 1963, but flashes back to 1948, and ends in the 2000's. We experience multiple POV's in the family throughout the years. I usually struggle with this kind of structure- multi POV's and changing timeline, but this timeline is linear and each family member is so distinct that I didn't get too mixed up in the POVs (I did have to check the family tree in the front of the book a few times and got a little mixed up once we got to the grandchildren but was able to get my bearings quickly). The political events and wars are not thoroughly talked about, they sometimes are in the background and the focus is on the family and their reactions, so I can see how maybe if you didn't know the events/wars this might be a bit difficult, but you could quick google to orient yourself if needed. But I appreciated this focus and how reactions and experiences shifted depending on the POV.
This book shows generational trauma, living throughout the diaspora, living through multiple wars, how loss changes us and affects us. And it really shows how loss of home, losing your homeland, completely and utterly changes you and your entire life and that reverberates throughout years and generations. The loss of memories and knowledge was haunting throughout. Really beautifully done. I cried a lot. I stayed up too late to finish this because I couldn't put it down.
The audiobook is great, I listened while sometimes following along with the physical as that helps me with multi POVs and changing timelines, it was helpful to be able to reference the family tree in the front of the book.
This book shows generational trauma, living throughout the diaspora, living through multiple wars, how loss changes us and affects us. And it really shows how loss of home, losing your homeland, completely and utterly changes you and your entire life and that reverberates throughout years and generations. The loss of memories and knowledge was haunting throughout. Really beautifully done. I cried a lot. I stayed up too late to finish this because I couldn't put it down.
The audiobook is great, I listened while sometimes following along with the physical as that helps me with multi POVs and changing timelines, it was helpful to be able to reference the family tree in the front of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Sexual assault
annamay1021's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Islamophobia, and War
lettuce_read's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, War, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Rape
salemander's review against another edition
5.0
such a beautiful and profound book spanning generations with perfectly flawed narrators. the heartbreak and trauma of this family and the countless Palestinian families who have faced genocide at the hands of Israel is so well illustrated throughout this book. from the river to the sea. always.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Colonisation, Genocide, Islamophobia, Rape, Racism, Death, and War
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Salt Houses, by Hala Alyan, traces four generations of Palestinians through exile - from Palestine to Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Paris and Boston. Where multi-generational sagas always feel epic, this story is also painfully intimate. It’s a story filled with ghosts - of Palestine, of family members murdered or imprisoned or lost to time and distance and bitterness, of all the things we are too scared to say out loud to the people we love. The lives and love of Alia and Atef anchor the story, and we see their childhoods and young love, their deep trauma during the Six-Day War and subsequent flight to Kuwait, their early marriage with young children, the ceaseless displacement, the restless moves from country to country as they try to build lives free of war and occupation. Spinning out from them, we see their children and grandchildren with inherited trauma and grief fighting for reclamation and joy. This is a diaspora story where “houses as old as the earth itself” are replaced by “structures made of salt.”
And woven throughout each generation are moments of raw tenderness that boldly refute the dehumanization and violent caricaturization of Arab men we’ve witnessed through the last several decades. Instead: Mustafa, cradling a baby bird for his sister. Mustafa, practicing a speech for hours to get it just right. Mustafa, released from prison, kneeling to kiss his mother’s feet as he whispers never again. Atef making wishes to the moon with Riham. Atef drinking tea in the garden every afternoon with his daughter. Karam calming his mother’s fears and his sister’s anger. Zain reeling in Linah’s wild temper and restlessness. Alyan whispering to us: see this, and this, and this. Every life, an entire universe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and War
Moderate: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Confinement
Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, Rape, and Abortion
dragongirl271's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Dementia, War, Xenophobia, and Self harm
Minor: Rape, Torture, Police brutality, Violence, Sexual violence, Death, and Domestic abuse
katharina90's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
A raw, moving, well-written multigenerational novel with complex characters and realistic family dynamics.
The story pulled me in from the first page, but towards the end I felt less connected to the characters.
I found myself wanting to return to the POV of previous family members rather than focusing on the younger generation.
The story pulled me in from the first page, but towards the end I felt less connected to the characters.
I found myself wanting to return to the POV of previous family members rather than focusing on the younger generation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Colonisation
Moderate: Grief, Confinement, War, Sexual content, Body shaming, Torture, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism
jobaji's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
This book might be my favorite of the year. Everyone in this book felt so familiar and comforting to me, although I am Syrian, not Palestinian, and the family dynamics are so beautiful. The constant displacement of these characters and the paths that they follow that mirror those of their relatives are so fascinating to read. I just finished the book and I’m crying as I write this. Read this book. It’s just so beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Dementia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, and Torture
Minor: Rape
annreadsabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Hala Alyan’s 2017 debut Salt Houses is an intimate yet sweeping exploration of family, memory, and diaspora. After sitting on my shelf for a couple of years, I decided to finally give it a go, and I’m so glad I did.
Beginning with the Six-Day War of 1967, during which a young family is displaced from their Palestinian home, we follow multiple generations of this family as they search for a place they can call home. Over the years, the family bounces between Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, France, and the United States, all along questioning whether there will ever be something to return to in Palestine, and if there isn’t, what can home look like elsewhere? What role does remembrance play when you are far from the sites of memory? And, behind all of this is one man’s secret that continues to haunt him for years, no matter how far from “home” he finds himself.
I am always impressed by authors who can pull off inter-generational family sagas in 350 pages or fewer—and do it well. Something I appreciated about this book was how it depicted various characters’ disparate reactions to the pervasive sense of uprootedness—in some, it brings out a strengthened desire to cling more strongly to loved ones, and in others, it causes deep rifts that are difficult to repair. Through it all, though, we see a family that has each other as one of the sole constants in life—for better or for worse.
Fans of A History of Burning and The Mountains Sing will love this one. If you enjoy books that are firmly situated against the backdrop of real-world historical events, that examine the contours of family and immigrant identities, or that consider how displacement can forever shape a family’s trajectory, this might be right up your alley!
Beginning with the Six-Day War of 1967, during which a young family is displaced from their Palestinian home, we follow multiple generations of this family as they search for a place they can call home. Over the years, the family bounces between Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, France, and the United States, all along questioning whether there will ever be something to return to in Palestine, and if there isn’t, what can home look like elsewhere? What role does remembrance play when you are far from the sites of memory? And, behind all of this is one man’s secret that continues to haunt him for years, no matter how far from “home” he finds himself.
I am always impressed by authors who can pull off inter-generational family sagas in 350 pages or fewer—and do it well. Something I appreciated about this book was how it depicted various characters’ disparate reactions to the pervasive sense of uprootedness—in some, it brings out a strengthened desire to cling more strongly to loved ones, and in others, it causes deep rifts that are difficult to repair. Through it all, though, we see a family that has each other as one of the sole constants in life—for better or for worse.
Fans of A History of Burning and The Mountains Sing will love this one. If you enjoy books that are firmly situated against the backdrop of real-world historical events, that examine the contours of family and immigrant identities, or that consider how displacement can forever shape a family’s trajectory, this might be right up your alley!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
mashooexplores's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Chronic illness, Dementia, Grief, Islamophobia, and Police brutality