Salt Houses uncovers the experience of Palestinian’s displacement and dispossession across several decades

? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Salt Houses by American-Palestinian author Hala Alyan is a poignant and multigenerational historical fiction novel that illuminates the struggles faced by individuals and families in the midst of political upheaval.

The novel tracks four generations of the Palestinian Yacoub family over 50 years. Spanning 1963 to 2014, the novel goes across wars in Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, and beyond, through which the family endures repeated displacement from their homes.

The narrative traces Salma and Hussam, the main couple of the Yacoub family, their two daughters Alia and Widad, and their son Moustafa in addition to their descendants as wartime conflicts repeatedly uproot them from their homes.

In 1963, Salma was forced to flee Nablus after the Six-Day War. She settled in Amman while Alia relocated with her husband Atef and three children to Kuwait City…

…but Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait left them displaced again.The book goes on weaving the stories of the different paths of descendants who witness the good and bad sides of assimilation in foreign lands just as their parents and grandparents did before them.

The book earned several awards, including the Arab American Book Award, the Dayton Literary and the Peace Prize for the year 2018.

You can get your copy fromAmazon.