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A review by littleredmacks
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
3 stars
Palestinian American Poet
Historical Fiction
Follows 3 generations
Lack of plot
Lyrically written
The author, Hala Alyan, award-winning Palestinian American poet, novelist and clinical psychologist whose work has appeared in numerous journals including The Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner and Colorado Review. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband.
This book follows 3 generations of a family that was displaced and explores the effects that displacement and war can have on even the privileged. In many ways, then, this is a novel about privilege. Alyan takes groups we often see as disadvantaged, demonstrates their advantages, but shows us that privilege is still relative, and that trauma can still be experienced within such constructs.
They skip between one character to the next which can be jarring as they also skip froward a bit in the timeline.
There is a theme of ‘what do you do when you can never return home’ which I feel is a great theme to explore however this is a book lacking a true plot. So if that’s important to you I would consider other books. That being said, even with a lack of plat, this book was still lyrically written. It was well done.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and War