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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Gun violence
robinks'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Racial slurs, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Salt Houses beautifully raw story about a Palestinian family spread across the world after the Six Day War in 1967. We follow four generations of this family as they grapple with the enormous loss of being forced to leave Palestine and have to continue their lives elsewhere.
Hala Alyan’s writing is absolutely incredible, it’s lyrical and elegant and I underlined so many powerful quotes while reading. Through her captivating prose, Alyan is able to weave a story of four generations, centering on the relationships between mothers, and daughters and sisters.
We see how they are impacted by Israel’s violence against their family and land for decades after and how the loss of their homeland shaped their lives. This is a story of loss and grief, but we also see these characters in their most tangibly human moments. They grow up, they find love, have children, get old. There is sorrow but there is also joy and love.
Each member of the family carries the memory of Palestine with them in a different way, they are shaped by it but each of their lives takes a different path. I found myself attached to each character for different reasons, they were all so vivid and human I couldn’t help but be drawn in. Even if I disliked particular characters I was fascinated by them and resonated with their messiness and imperfections.
Salt Houses is such an incredibly impactful story about life, loss and family and I urge everyone to read it.
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fatphobia, Genocide, Violence, and War
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: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and War
We must open our eyes to more perspectives of people's lives than just the ones the USA wants us to believe.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: Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Alcohol
mads1706's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent