Salt Houses

           

Title: Salt Houses

Author: Hala Alyan

Publisher: Harper, May 2, 2017

Pages: 338

Genre: Cultural Heritage Fiction

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.  

Salma is forced to leave her home in Nablus; Alia’s brother gets pulled into a politically militarized world he can’t escape; and Alia and her gentle-spirited husband move to Kuwait City, where they reluctantly build a life with their three children. When Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait in 1990, Alia and her family once again lose their home and their land, scattering to Beirut, Paris, Boston, and beyond. Soon Alia’s children begin families of their own, once again navigating the burdens (and blessings) of assimilation in foreign cities.  

This was my second read of this book. And it was just as beautiful as before. I cried, maybe not in exactly the same places, potentially more times. But I love this book and this family.

The book features 5 generations of this Palestinian family. You meet them just before the Six-Day War, and then you move through about 50 years of their lives together. You see how the instability of the region throughout these years has impacted this family. 

Even with all of the moves, their ties to one another remain strong. They fight and bicker. They have their varying levels of faith. It's hard to call this slice of life, but that's how it feels. It's a collection of slice of life vignettes from different people in this one family. I wish I could convince every person in my life to read this book. I just think it's a really important and really beautiful book. 

Ratings

Stars: 5/5