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Salt Houses Hardcover – May 2, 2017
Lyrical and heartbreaking, Salt Houses follows three generations of a Palestinian family and asks us to confront that most devastating of all truths: you can’t go home again.
Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award
On the eve of her daughter Alia’s wedding, Salma reads the girl’s future in a cup of coffee dregs. She sees an unsettled life for Alia and her children; she also sees travel and luck. While she chooses to keep her predictions to herself that day, they will all soon come to pass when the family is uprooted in the wake of the Six-Day War of 1967.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper
- Publication dateMay 2, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 1.08 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100544912586
- ISBN-13978-0544912588
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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From the Publisher
A Conversation With Hala Alyan
The author of Salt Houses talks about the influence of her family history & other immigrant stories
How did the idea for Salt Houses come about?
It started out as a short story about a young man in pre-1967 Palestine, but the more I wrote, the more I became intrigued by the character’s sister and mother. I found myself wondering what came before and after this man. There was no specific moment where I decided I’d write a novel; rather, I just followed my curiosity about this family, and it turned into a multigenerational narrative of a single Palestinian family over six decades. More generally, I wanted to write something that avoided the usual (media and art) portrayal of Palestinians and Arabs, which often involves politicizing or exotifying them.
In what ways does the narrative mirror your own family's history?
There are definitely similarities in terms of the geographical 'arc,' since my parents met and married in Kuwait City then, after Saddam’s invasion, found themselves seeking refuge in the United States, while their siblings and other family members wound in places as far-flung as Amman, Kansas and Beirut. Beyond that, I took certain elements of various family members’ archetypes (i.e. the strong matriarch, the Americanized grandchildren), but stayed away from emulating anyone too closely, since my family would never let me hear the end of it!
What was it like to write from the perspective of characters as young as 11 and as old as 75?
I loved it. Like many people, I remember my prepubescent years (too) vividly and I felt a certain catharsis in delving back into that world of self-doubt, fickle adults, and painfully elaborate crushes. One of the chapters takes place during the 2007 war in southern Beirut and I debated for a long time how to portray it, ultimately choosing to keep the focus on the youngest character. I was a college sophomore in Lebanon during that war, and I remember wondering how my younger sister and cousins were absorbing the news reports, distant sounds of bombing and frenzied adults around them. As for the other end of the spectrum, I spent a lot of time around my grandparents growing up and have always loved listening to them, stories of how the world had changed in front of their eyes. It was always startling to hear my grandparents reference something I’d learned about in history class. Writing this book, I became really fascinated with the idea of what we inherit (emotionally, psychologically, etc.), as well as conceptualizing the same historical event from the perspective of different generations.
How have immigrant stories influenced you?
I grew up reading Amy Tan, Chitra Divakaruni, Jhumpa Lahiri, brilliant storytellers who normalized much of what I witnessed as the child of Palestinian and Syrian immigrants, moving from Kuwait to Texas and Oklahoma, from Beirut to Brooklyn—intergenerational clashes over culture; an enduring sense of homesickness; the idea of misplacing and recreating 'home' in foreign cities. More than anything, that’s what I’m most excited about—the idea of contributing to that canon of immigration literature. To paraphrase what my father recently told me, one of the implications of a post-Trump America is that these stories will become more urgent and necessary than ever before.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize* Fiction Winner of the Arab American Book Award * A Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize * Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize * An NPR Best Book of 2017* One of NYLON's Best Fiction Books of 2017 * One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2017 * One of Bustle's 17 Best Fiction Books of 2017 * One of BookPage's Best Books of 2017 * An Indie Next Pick —
“Moving and beautifully written, Alyan’s debut chronicles three generations of a Palestinian family as they face two life-altering displacements – the first after 1967’s Six-Day War, and the second following Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Spring's most powerful novel...mystical, compelling...sweeping.” — Town & Country
"[Salt Houses] illustrate[s] the inherited longing and sense of dislocation passed like a baton from mother to daughter." — New York Times Book Review
“Some family stories we pass on, adding chapters like rooms to a house; others are burned into our subconscious. Poet Hala Alyan's ambitious debut novel, Salt Houses follows the scattered generations of one Palestinian family for whom 'nostalgia is an affliction,' moving from the Six-Day War and a future glimpsed in a daughter's lipsticked coffee cup, to 9/11 and its aftermath.” — Vogue
“Alyan is doing important work through this novel...Salt Houses can be read very simply as a family drama, proving Alyan’s talent as a master of both the family drama genre as well as the depths and complexities of the Palestinian displacement.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
"What does home mean when you no longer have a house – or a homeland? This beautiful novel traces one Palestinian family's struggle with that question and how it can haunt generations. Hala Alyan's own family history – for years, she felt as if she belonged nowhere – clearly informed her book, but her professional life as a clinical psychologist who has worked with refugee clients plays a part too. Along with another favorite from this year – Mohsin Hamid's Exit West – this is an example of how fiction is often the best filter for the real world around us." — NPR
"Read Salt Houses...In Hala Alyan's novel about a Palestinian family in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, children rebel and return and the matriarch's memories fade with age, fraying the brood's ties to their homeland. In the process, the book reveals the inner lives of people too often lumped together in the service of politics." — New York
"Alyan explores the human agency in the face of the harshest realities without compromising the complex nature of the Palestinian diaspora. This is a heart-wrenching, intimate look at the intergenerational impact of losing a homeland." — Ms. magazine
"Gorgeous and sprawling...In many ways, Salt Houses is about the displacement of millions in war-ravaged lands. But more precisely, it's about the significance of 'home'— what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to go home again when nothing looks or feels the same...Heart-wrenching, lyrical and timely, Salt Houses is a humanizing examination of a family torn apart and remade by conflicts both too complex to grasp fully and too personal to not recognize in ourselves, wherever we might call home." — Dallas Morning News
"What happens when displacement enters your DNA? This is the questions that Alyan's brilliant debut novel both poses and answers, and—to borrow a heavily used phrase—it feels like one we particularly need to be asking ourselves right now...[Alyan is] an extraordinarily gifted novelist...[Salt Houses is] an epic in every sense of the word...[It] shines in its intimate details; notably, in the ways in which no character is allowed to be a stereotype, and in the way it grapples with those all too human-scaled experiences of alienation and belonging, displacement and rebuilding. Alyan might be grappling with universal problems like war and brutality, but since she renders them through the perspective of one family, through their personal triumphs and struggles, she keeps these issues on a recognizable scale." — NYLON, Best Fiction Books
"Each new chapter of Salt Houses shifts perspective and jumps in time...These perspectives touch back on each other through small details, fashioning a collective, familial history. One character’s revelations illuminate the life of another...Alyan’s talent is immediately apparent in her exquisitely detailed scenes and the complex ways her characters relate to one another...Alyan is also a poet, and the last pages of Salt Houses drop like the end of a poem—they crush the reader while also lifting her up...Narratives like this one complicate and humanize America’s simplistic view of Arab cultures, toppling the flimsy idea that Arab people are intractably Other." — The Rumpus
“In her debut novel, Alyan tells the story of a Palestinian family that is uprooted by the Six-Day War of 1967 and Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This heartbreaking and important story examines displacement, belonging, and family in a lyrical style.” — The Millions, “Most Anticipated"
“At the very start of Hala Alyan's novel Salt Houses, a woman buys a coffee set — a dozen cups, a coffee pot, a tray. It's a simple act that unexpectedly becomes painful . . . Alyan builds her story on little moments like that — a peek into the lives of several generations, forced to relocate and resettle. Her characters are lost and looking for a home.” — NPR, "Morning Edition"
“This sweeping family drama brings history to life by imagining events that befall a Palestinian family from 1963 to 2014. Buffeted by war and political turmoil — the Six-Day War in 1967, the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 — the family is constantly uprooted, forcing its members to adopt new cultures in Paris, Beirut and Boston. It's a lyrical exploration of identity.” — AARP
“Stunning...[Salt Houses] offers such a piercing examination of displacement, identity, faith, and what one character refers to as a lifetime of 'emotional code-switching.'” — Brooklyn Magazine
About the Author
Hala Alyan is the author of the novel Salt Houses, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award, and a finalist for the Chautauqua Prize. Her latest novel, The Arsonists’ City, was a finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize. She is also the author of five highly acclaimed collections of poetry, including The Twenty-Ninth Year. Her work has been published by The New Yorker, The Academy of American Poets, Literary Hub, The New York Times Book Review, and Guernica. She lives in Brooklyn with her family, where she works as a clinical psychologist and professor at New York University.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper; 1st edition (May 2, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0544912586
- ISBN-13 : 978-0544912588
- Item Weight : 1.11 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.08 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #868,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,672 in Cultural Heritage Fiction
- #11,955 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #40,475 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Hala Alyan is a Palestinian American writer and clinical psychologist whose work has appeared in Guernica and other literary journals. Her poetry collection ATRIUM was awarded the 2013 Arab American Book Award in Poetry, while her latest collection, HIJRA, was selected as a winner of the 2015 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry and published by Southern Illinois University Press. Her debut novel, SALT HOUSES, is forthcoming by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2017. She is a Lannan fellow and currently resides in Brooklyn.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the story interesting and poignant. They describe the book as enchanting and drawing them in with its beautiful writing. The book provides an insightful perspective on the Palestinian diaspora and Middle Eastern wars. Many readers find the emotional content intense and heartbreaking. However, some found the book boring.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the well-crafted story about a Palestinian family. They find the writing excellent and the drama interesting. The story spans several generations through many wars and countries. Readers describe it as an engaging, poignant, and touching tale about family. While some find the constant descriptions of everyone annoying, they appreciate the believable ending and multiple points of view.
"...The story is engaging, and it is told in an unusual way with multiple points of view, multiple times, and multiple settings...." Read more
"...Alyan is a gifted writer who brings us a realistic story of an upper-class Palestinian family's bond, and survival through war and displacement...." Read more
"...It is a story of four generations of a family...." Read more
"The writing is beautiful, but I found that the plot wasn’t going anywhere...." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They appreciate the beautiful writing and multigenerational story. The latter chapters are described as the best, as individuals must come to terms with loss and leaving. Overall, readers find the book an important read for understanding the plight of Palestinians.
"...This would be an excellent book group book for us...." Read more
"...magnificent writing, Salt Houses is an extraordinary novel and worthy of praise...." Read more
"This book was excellent - but I didn’t like reading it. The narrative is well structured and beautifully rendered...." Read more
"...book is well written, the characters are well developed, and it is an interesting, but sometimes painful, story." Read more
Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book. They find the prose nice, beautiful, and touching. The author is described as gifted and brings us a realistic story.
"...This would be an excellent book group book for us. It is well written, told in a creative style and format and telling a story that will broaden our..." Read more
"...Alyan is a gifted writer who brings us a realistic story of an upper-class Palestinian family's bond, and survival through war and displacement...." Read more
"This is a very well-written and organized book that tells a painful story of people living though horrible times...." Read more
"The writing is beautiful, but I found that the plot wasn’t going anywhere...." Read more
Customers find the book provides an interesting and vital perspective on the Palestinian diaspora and Middle Eastern wars. They appreciate learning about the history of Palestine and the Middle East through stories of characters. The book connects readers to their inner soul through connecting past with present, offering a compelling literary tapestry of generations of a Palestinian family.
"...The story is engaging, and it is told in an unusual way with multiple points of view, multiple times, and multiple settings...." Read more
"...witness how the family tries to remain connected, and not lose their cultural origins; while trying to assimilate to all of the different countries...." Read more
"...It is a story about family. It is about survival and having the money to constantly move away from war but also about loving your homeland, wherever..." Read more
"Salt Houses provides an interesting and vital perspective: the Palestinian diaspora and the emotional toll emigration takes on those forced to..." Read more
Customers find the book emotional and poignant. They say it connects them to their inner soul, is heartbreaking, and intimate. The writing is beautiful and captivating, making readers laugh and cry.
"...does a skillful job of telling story that is both global and intensely personal...." Read more
"This is a very well-written and organized book that tells a painful story of people living though horrible times...." Read more
"...The epilogue describing Alia’s reflections was deeply moving. But…,..." Read more
"...This book is emotional, sad, and a bit eye opening all at the same time. I’m sad that I dont even have the words to describe it the right way~" Read more
Customers find the book engaging and insightful. They describe it as emotional, sad, and eye-opening. The writing is vivid and clear, providing a wonderful view into the lives of an Arab family.
"...From the breathtaking book cover to the magnificent writing, Salt Houses is an extraordinary novel and worthy of praise...." Read more
"...This book is emotional, sad, and a bit eye opening all at the same time. I’m sad that I dont even have the words to describe it the right way~" Read more
"I'm so impressed with Hala Alyan, this is her *first* novel and it's just stunning...." Read more
"Although this book started well, painting a picture of other viewpoints on the history of violence in the Middle East, at some point it went off..." Read more
Customers have different views on the character development. Some find the characters well-developed and appreciate the human element shown through family life. Others find them unlikable, difficult to follow, and hard to keep track of all the characters and time sequence. There are also complaints about poor writing and no true development of a strong character.
"...It was frustrating, but the stories of the individual characters was compelling...." Read more
"...The book is well written, the characters are well developed, and it is an interesting, but sometimes painful, story." Read more
"...points of view and jumps in narrative made it difficult to become fully vested in a character...." Read more
"...diaspora, this book is about family and the inner world of each individual member. What I love is how it works on the mind in so many ways...." Read more
Customers find the book boring and uninteresting. They say it's a waste of time and a missed opportunity.
"Overacted. Boring at times. Author could have ventured to make bolder statements through her characters. Book ended as it began . Colorless." Read more
"This book was so boring. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. The characters were basically not likable...." Read more
"...It was truly a disappointment and squandered opportunity." Read more
"...I could not get into it. It did not capture my interest." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017Salt Houses is the story of a Palestinian family as they are repeatedly displaced by war, religion, opportunity, and politics. The story is engaging, and it is told in an unusual way with multiple points of view, multiple times, and multiple settings. Even with chapter headings that identify the point of view, the location, and the time, it usually took a paragraph or even a page until I felt oriented. I frequently had to flip back to the previous chapter so that I could figure out how much time had passed. I did not view it as a flaw, but it was different. The story spans more than 50 years. While the narrative begins in 1963, the story goes back even farther. Ms. Alyan does a skillful job of telling story that is both global and intensely personal. Leaving your country voluntarily is not the same as leaving under threat. So many areas of our world are being torn apart, and people are fleeing their homelands as we watch on television. This book gives insight into the impact that falls upon generations. She also makes a point of showing how different the experience is for people of means as opposed to people of limited resources. National identity, cultural identity, family ties, language and politics are all in play. Through the characters and the plot, we learn a lot about the experience for Palestinian refugees in Arab countries such as Iraq, Kuwait, and Lebanon and in Western cities like Paris, Boston, and New York. It is enlightening and interesting. The multiple points of view and jumps in narrative made it difficult to become fully vested in a character. I cared about them and could sympathize, but it did not invade my heart. This would be an excellent book group book for us. It is well written, told in a creative style and format and telling a story that will broaden our horizons. Knowing my book group, we would also find a great deal to talk about. I will not soon forget this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
"Atia remains too frightened to say anything that might unnerve him. What she knows about her husband, what she thought she knew about the man, has scattered like dandelion seeds beneath a child's breath since he returned from the war." Hala Alyan, Salt Houses
From the breathtaking book cover to the magnificent writing, Salt Houses is an extraordinary novel and worthy of praise. Alyan is a gifted writer who brings us a realistic story of an upper-class Palestinian family's bond, and survival through war and displacement. Although I have never been to Nablus, Kuwait or Beirut, through Alyan's impressive descriptions, I felt I had. I was able to feel the joys and sorrows of Salma, Alia, Atef, and the rest of the Yacoub family. I also learned some history of Palestinian Arabs, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the Six-day War of 1967.
I honestly cannot imagine having to abandon my home, possessions, and loved ones. Or if I had to move from country to country multiple times because of war, or fear of war. Without a doubt, displacement immobilizes countries involved in a civil conflict, and unfortunately, its citizens are the ones who suffer the most. Being displaced impacts an individual's life emotionally and physically. Salt Houses gives readers a candid look at the Yacoubs' despair and hope for a better life throughout four generations. As a reader, you also witness how the family tries to remain connected, and not lose their cultural origins; while trying to assimilate to all of the different countries. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to gain a better understanding of the Palestinian diaspora.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2024Someone recently pointed out that I’d never read any books by Palestinian authors. This wasn’t by design, just something that hadn’t occurred to me. I try to understand other lives and cultures through books, so I added this one to the list.
It is a story of four generations of a family. They start in Palestine but are displaced and over the years, the family grows and lives in Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, France and America. It is a story about family. It is about survival and having the money to constantly move away from war but also about loving your homeland, wherever that may be. It starts in 1967 and spans through 2014. It’s about times changing, technology catching up, cultures and fashion changing. But mostly it’s about humans. How no matter how different we are, we’re actually so similar. It’s about love and loss and those tiny moments that make a life.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2024This is a very well-written and organized book that tells a painful story of people living though horrible times. It is incredibly relevant as the dangers faced by these characters are still very active.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024
4.0 out of 5 stars Great writing but overall story could have been more concise and better developed
The writing is beautiful, but I found that the plot wasn’t going anywhere. There were too many characters to follow, and many of the characters did not develop within their mini stories. I was hoping to read more about the painful occupation, the nakba, and the continual oppression of Palestinians throughout generations…but this was a side element it seemed. There were so many characters that had no apparent purpose? I found myself skipping parts of the book near the end. I was a bit disappointed. So many characters yet none developed in depth, and there didn’t seem to be a “theme” or any sort of “climax”. If you’re searching for a book to humanize Palestinians for you (while also providing historical context), I would highly suggest Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2024After reading “The Hundred Years on War on Palestine” I absolutely NEEDED this. The brilliance of the final chapter transported out of my hotel and into Alia’s heart bringing tears to my eyes but a warmth to my soul. Thank you Hala.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2024Reading this book club pick because of current conflict. Not just a good story by an excellent writer, but will educate you on a point of view no one seems to write about or care about. The author tackles the Palestinian plight in such a way that this incredibly complex problem becomes a much more simple human story about choices made when all choices seem to be bad ones, and when privilege vs. poverty is the only thing giving you a choice in the first place.
Top reviews from other countries
- afsoonReviewed in Canada on December 5, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful touching
What a beautiful story. So sad how war can change life of 3 generations.
Highly recommend ❤️
-
FRANCESCO IANNIReviewed in Italy on November 13, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Consigliato
Fantastico libro da leggere nel tempo libero
- Oheme93Reviewed in France on June 13, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A story that stays with you
I finished this book a month ago and I keep thinking about it! A very powerful tale. <3
- Happy oneReviewed in India on January 6, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy:)
I still can't believe I got this book for only 199 rupees .. Although I ordered a used book but the condition of the book is good. I'm glad seller thank you ..
- Riham AlkousaaReviewed in Germany on August 26, 2021
3.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't finish the book
It starts slowly and after 100 pages, it doesn't pick up. The story is over dramatized.