Hala Alyan

Heartrending, Haunting, Raw, and so very Beautiful

I am struggling to put words together after listening to this.

Truly some of the most powerful, vital, and remarkable words I have ever read. There is so much in this relatively small collection, but each poem is a world and a flensed aspect of the author's soul.

There's nothing I can say to describe this that could even attempt to do these poems justice. Just listen to them.

It seems a crime that this is free on Audible. Find a way to pay this writer for their phenemonal talent and bearing their all, if you are able. I certainly will.… (more)

“He thinks of them, instinctively touching the soil again. All the houses they have lived in, the ibriks and rugs and curtains they have bought; how many windows should any person own? The houses float up to his mind’s eye like jinn, past lovers…. They glitter whitely in him mind, like structures made of salt, before a tidal wave comes and sweeps them away.” – Hala Alyan, Salt Houses

Salt Houses is a multi-generational family saga that shows how a family is changed by displacement. The Yacoub family moves from Israel to Palestine to Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon. Some family members find home in the United States for a while, others in France. Alyan explores the impact of war, exile, and separation on a family. It is a character-driven novel of people that feel fragmented due to multiple moves over time, losing pieces of their history and identity. For example, the younger family members are seen by society as Palestinian, though they have never lived there. They only know what their parents or grandparents have told them.

The chapters read almost like a series of short stories, focusing on different family members of all ages over a timespan of four generations. Alyan’s writing is elegant. The characters are well-developed and believable. The inter-generational disputes are particularly convincing. It focuses on interactions among family members, their marriages, disagreements, personality conflicts, and how they adapt to different homes. Recommended to those that enjoy stories of immigration, refugee experiences, or family dynamics.… (more)