Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan

7 reviews

kquixotic's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Oooo I love a family saga full of secrets, revelations, romance, and existential crises. The Arsonist’s City has it all. 

I appreciate this book for upending western stereotypes of Arab people, particularly around women, sex, and sexuality, with every character navigating contradictions. 

The backdrop of the impact of Western intervention in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon further, complicates and enriches the narrative. I was affected! Upon finishing this book I had to go to the local Lebanese buffet to eat my feelings. 

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samisal's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book floored me. It is such a brilliantly crafted, clever story and it captures you from the start. I read this book faster than I remember reading anything in years. Hala Alyan captures Arab family dynamics in so many perfect personal details but nothing about this story feels predictable and the secrets this family contains are delicately arranged throughout the story. It is an emotional but loving read that really breaks these characters and relationships down in a beautiful way. I particularly loved the reflections in Mazna's chapters, the love and care that Alyan gives to a complicated woman experiencing so many of the damaging dynamics of Arab-American motherhood and womanhood. I love the narratives this book allows our community to explore, I love the writing, which is so clever and funny and sad, and I love this book from cover to cover. 

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keatynbergsten's review

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emotional hopeful 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


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caseythereader's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

 - I feel like I've lost my ability to write any kind of proper reviews of literary fiction, especially this kind of sprawling family epic variety, but THE ARSONISTS' CITY was too beautiful to leave off my feed.
- I was completely gripped by the stories of every member of the Nasr family. The way the story unraveled between the two timelines was just masterful.
- Also, going in to this book I didn't know there was a lesbian character! Hooray for adult queer fiction! 

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sebreads's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0


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whatskatiereading's review

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This story unfolds in Beirut, Damascus, and the United States bouncing between the 1980s and present day. Idris, Manza, and their three adult children (Ava, Mimi, and Naj) are brought together by Idris’ desire to sell his childhood home in Beirut. With the family coming together, we learn about them as individuals and about their relationships to one another. Like any family, they have their secrets that we slowly learn about throughout the book. The large majority of the book takes place in the past, showing the events that led Manza and Idris to move to California. While this book is a work of fiction, the backdrop of Syria and Lebanon in the 1980s creates a story that seems very real. The historical nature of this book was very insightful. The author managed to pack a lot of history and insights into an incredible story. 

As someone who prefers shorter books, this one was on the longer side for me (440 pages). Longer books tend to intimidate me, or I find myself zoning out during parts that I don’t find interesting. Alyan’s writing had me invested from the beginning and there was not one page that had me losing interest. This beautiful family saga tapped into so many emotions, it’s hard to sum it all up. As a music lover I really enjoyed Naj and Mimi’s storylines, though Manza is hands down my favorite character. I really hope this book gets a lot of buzz this year because I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Thank you BookishFirst and HMH for my copy of The Arsonists’ City! 

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bookedbymadeline's review

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

I loved this book! The complex look at family and sibling relationships drew me in and made me feel part of these characters lives. My heart was aching and I cried a few times throughout the novel as I got to know these people. The ending felt perfect but I’m definitely going to have a book hangover.

The story makes me want to learn more about Lebanon and the conflicts discussed throughout the book. Also enjoyed the switching POVs and timelines to get an in depth look at each character. Will definitely be reading more of Alyan’s novels!! Highly highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. All the opinions above are my own.

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