Hala Alyan
Hala Alyan’s Salt Houses is the story of three generations of a Palestinian family living in the diaspora. Salma and Hussam Yacoub are forced to leave their home in Jaffa when Israelis occupy their land, hurling burning rags into their orange groves. The family moves to Nablus, and from there the now adult children scatter in different directions—Kuwait City, Amman, Beirut, Paris, and Boston. With each move, they have to rebuild their lives in a foreign city. The narrative progresses in chronological time, spanning several decades. Each chapter advances a few years, signals the new location, and focuses on the perspective of a different family member. Threaded throughout the narrative are flashbacks in time and place.
The novel opens with Salma on the eve of her youngest daughter’s wedding. The year is 1963 and the city is Nablus. Salma’s husband has already passed away, and her eldest daughter is married and living in Kuwait. As the years unfold, we learn the fate of each of Salma’s children—their evacuation from Nablus; her son killed in an Israeli prison; her youngest daughter, Alia, raising three children with her husband in Kuwait City. We learn the fate of Alia’s three children, each of whom marries. One lives in Amman; the other in Boston; and the third goes to Paris, Boston, and back to Amman after her divorce. The novel ends with Alia suffering from dementia, recalling glimpses of her life in Nablus while she is surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren.
This is primarily a novel about family dynamics—the inter-generational squabbles, tensions, and love that bind a family together, especially in times of crisis. By skillfully weaving in the conflicts in the Middle East from 1963 to 2014, including the 1967 war; the civil war in Lebanon; the Gulf war; and 9/11, Alyan is able to show the disruptive impact these traumatic events have on the lives of ordinary civilians. The political turmoil that triggers each family re-location reinforces the point that children and grandchildren of Palestinian refugees inherit a legacy of homelessness. They are perceived as outsiders wherever they go even while living in an Arab country because they are identified as Palestinians, as not belonging.
Alyan writes elegant, lyrical prose with language that immerses you in the sights, sounds, and smells of a city. With great poignancy, she portrays the challenges the family faces each time one of them is displaced from a home and has to rebuild in a different country.
The multiple points of view are handled with great skill. Each character is given a unique perspective and authentic voice. The older generation clings to tradition, culture, and memories, weaving them intricately into their daily lives. These inevitably become diluted as their children scatter all over the globe. Yet, somehow, the grandchildren and great grandchildren retain a sense of their family’s origins.
Salma yearns for her home in Nablus. Her children inherit that yearning, and her grandchildren and great grandchildren inherit a sense of loss even though they have never been to Nablus. Nostalgia for what has been lost coupled with the trauma of displacement is transmitted through the generations. In 2014, Salma’s great granddaughter, Manar, visits Israel to breathe the air of her family’s homeland and to re-trace her family’s footsteps. The descendants of Salma and Hussam Yacoub are determined to remember.
A compelling narrative, skillfully rendered, and highly recommended.