A review by megtristao
The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan

emotional reflective 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

5.0

Another stunning family saga from Hala Alyan! The novel follows two primary storylines: In the present day, three Arab-American siblings (living in New York City, Austin and Beirut) are dealing with their own lives while attempting to fend off their mother Mazna's requests to all return to Beirut for the summer to sell their ancestral home. In the other storyline, we get to see Mazna coming of age in Syria and Lebanon during the tumultuous 1970s and later immigrating to the United States.

Life in this book is messy, heartbreaking and beautiful, and while at times the plot appeared to veer toward the predictable or even trite, I found that knowing the characters' secrets before they did added a delicious layer of tension to my reading experience. Additionally, while almost all the characters said or did things that were nearly unforgivable, I couldn't help but love them.

I received a free advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.