Idris Nasr, a Lebanese doctor living in America, announces to his family that he is selling his family’s home in Beirut; he feels it is time since his father has recently died. Traveling to Beirut with his Syrian wife, and met by his three adult children, Idris faces some stern opposition to the selling of the home, even though only one of his three children lives in the area and the family never seems to visit the ancestral home. As the Nasr family faces the history contained within and around the home, they are forced to face their own individual pasts and the secrets they contain.

I really cannot express in words how much I enjoyed Arsonists’ City. One of the things I really like about this novel is the structure, alternating between the present and the past. Alyan gives you just enough about the present so you can form an opinion and perception regarding the events, but then the events shift to the past, affecting those opinions about the people and circumstances, only for the narrative to jump forward and mold those opinions all over again. It was interesting to see the mirroring between the characters and the generations, and the nonlinear timeline is very effective at shining a light on these similarities, the largest being secrets. Arsonists’ City shows how dangerous and life-changing secrets have the potential to be, especially when they are kept for a long time, and how some secrets aren’t as hidden as some people think. The characters are extremely well developed; I don’t know if I have ever changed my opinions about so many characters so many times before. Their emotions are honest and often understandable within their various circumstances; they are relatable and realistic, secrets and all.

I highly recommend Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan. It is a moving novel full of love, secrets and personal growth.

Thank you NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for gifting me an electronic copy of Arsonists’ City, given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

Following the death of a grandfather and the decision to sell the ancestral home in Beirut, this family of a Lebanese father, a Syrian mother, and three Arab-American children find themselves under the same roof, with a purpose to either stick with what has once been finalised by the father, the new patriarch of this family, or with an aim to reverse this determination — as thought by the mother and supported by the children. Immensely uplifted with an excellent character development where everyone's lives and paths are carefully dissected through secrets being unravelled, paramount love and loss, and the sense of belonging through ancestral bonds, this story wonderfully represents each scratched piece of a family puzzle in the manner they don't always align but are still connected through a thread of familial devotion that stretches across time, space, and generations. Understandably slow paced since the commitment to bringing these characters alive through the pages is evident, and the heartache that perpetuates from chaos and destruction in a place one's ancestors breathed in, a place one calls home, and a place where one belongs, is raw and real. Further strengthened by beautiful prose that surprisingly jumped timelines and shifted narrators with ease, this literary fiction is worth reading.

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.**
Wow I loved this book. I love books with alternating POVs and this one did not disappoint. This book was so beautifully written and really made me feel for and like all the characters, despite their obvious flaws. I loved learning all about Mazna's past and seeing how all the decisions she's made in her life lead her to where she was in the book's present day. Loved, loved, loved reading this and will be seeking out more from Hala Alyan!!

The arsonists city was sharp and thought provoking. This is a multi generational story delving into different peoples lives and how they came to be where they are. The storytelling aspect was really well done with purposeful changes in pace that worked well.

This book is in my top 10 books read last year. The story is told in such a mesmerizing way, slowly unraveling enough to keep the strong momentum but not too much to move the story too much. I would love to purchase this book for my friends to read and experience this.

PSA: Due to technical difficulties on my iPad, I lost all my notes 70% in so this will be an abbreviated review.

What to say about this book? A VERY slow read. Beautifully written.

From the start, I believed I would like this book. [I did.]

The setting:
Basically another dysfunctional multi-generational family story told over decades with SECRETS, deceptions, grudges, and infidelities. Lebanon, Syria, America [Brooklyn, California, Texas].

The "prologue" [?] begins with the end of Zakaria [no spoiler--it's obvious].

Next, the novel deals briefly with the three siblings, in biological order:

Ava, a scientist, living in Brooklyn, two children, maritial difficulties.
Marwan [Mimi], a frustrated musician who also is a cook.
Najla {Naj], a successful, gay musician, who returns to Beirut.

And for a VERY LONG SEGMENT--Mazna--a wannabe actress from a poor Syrian family, who marries Idris under false pretenses [no spoiler; easy enough to figure out]. Idris is Lebanese and of means. His best friend, Zakaria, is Palestinian. [Sorry, this is all over the place as seems the book!]

Idris and Mazna leave for California so that he can attend medical school. Much follows about Mazna's efforts to adjust and adapt and their changing status from poor, immigrant newlyweds to a successful doctor's family.

Additional minor characters populate the narrative--all well-described, and with their own roles: in particular, Harper, Sara, Fee, Nate, Merry, Jo.

Decades later, the family reunites in Beirut after Idris' father dies and he decides to sell the family home and hold a memorial service for which he mandates all must attend. Re-enter Sara, Idris' sister who was complicit in the "courtship" of Idris and Mazna, but has no role in the later narrative until they return to Beirut.

The backdrop of Beirut in the late 1960s to late 1970s--jump to the present enhances the storytelling.

Much of this book is about Mazna--and I believe her story went on far too long.

No one is particularly likeable, IMHO. They are all quite selfish.

Not linear, and easy enough to follow, but I think some editing and tightening would have enhanced this book.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the writing and many descriptions [lost in crash].

Hala Alyan's newest novel, The Arsonists' City, has both the intrigue of family secrets and the horrors of war in Lebanon and Syria. Now that I have finished the novel, I am wondering about the prologue, and if it was necessary, since we are informed that Zakaria will die, and then the novel returns to the present, and the family saga begins, and I completely forgot about the prologue. The main characters are Mazna and Idris, who become friends in their early twenties, and they both share their love of Zakaria, a Palestinian friend who is like a brother to Idris, and lives with his family, to protect him from the dangers that could happen in the refugee camp, and Mazna, a young woman whose life dream is to go to Hollywood and become a star. Throughout the novel, we mostly hear the story through the eyes of Mazna, a woman who abruptly leaves her home in Syria and marries Idris, after he accepts a residency in Blythe, CA, as a means to escape her grief after Zakaria is murdered for revenge.

Throughout the novel, readers know the secrets the family members keep from each other, and when they return to Beirut for a memorial of Idris's father, and to sell the ancestral home, the grown children try to piece together the secrets their parents have kept from them, and the secrets they have kept from their parents and lovers, and leaves readers with some lingering questions. I do wish we had heard more from Idris, who became a bit one-dimensional in the novel, as we follow Mazna through her journeys. This is not a close family, and it takes until the end of the novel in Beirut, for the family to address their separation, their secrets, and their guilt. The title is a bit misleading, yet, a fire does happen, and those flames are the breaking point of the novel.

I read Hala Alyan's earlier novel, Salt Houses, earlier this year. It remains one of my favorite books of 2020 (and I've read a lot of books this year!) The Arsonist's City is at least as good if not better. It tells the story of different places and very different people - a family (3 siblings who are half-Syrian and half-Lebanese), a mother who grew up in Damascus, and a father who grew up in Beirut. Hala Alyan tells the story of how the family came together in Lebanon when Idris, the father, decides to sell a family home there. My favorite part of this book is the way the author beautifully tells the story of each of the very different family members and their stories, as well as some cultural/political context. It is easy to feel invested in the various characters' stories and what will happen in their lives. As well, it seems to me that this is not a common or popular story about a Middle Eastern family: this family is well-off and the children vary from living on the wealthy and pretentious Upper East Side, to being a struggling musician in Austin, to being a musician who has relationships with other women in Lebanon. Even the mother is not a cookie-cutter stereotypical character, as we learn her story of how she was interested in theater and took risks to meet her future husband across the border. I highly, highly recommend this book and will read anything that Hala Alyan writes now.

From that heart wrenching, empathetic prologue, "The Arsonists' City" becomes a masterfully done family saga about the secrets people keep from their loved ones and healing frayed familial bonds. There's also some social commentary on America, there's sex and infidelity galore, there's music, there's betrayal, there's the love, fleeting and not so fleeting, unconditional and not... There's the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war that has a lasting effect on the country and its people and their descendants that echos even years after it ended. Characters provide more background information in the story for readers (like me) who have little knowledge of the war. The part where Mazna is talking with her theater director and other actors provided decent enough context for me.

I have very few complaints. Mazna and Najla were my favorite characters, so I personally wish more of the story was focused on them, rather than have it be split equally between them and the others. Accordingly, I didn't like the sections with the others as much. Like Mimi. He's a fallible human...and relatable, to an extent, but honestly pretty unlikable. It took me until the very end to warm up to him. Idris as well. I thought him irredeemable for [spoilers]... but the scene at the end softened me.

Will probably read "Salt Houses" in the future, and definitely "The Twenty-Ninth Year." It was no surprise to me that Alyan is also a poet.

How can I even begin to talk about Hala Alyan’s “The Arsonists’ City”? How can I gather in all the wisdom and emotions it brims with and crush them into this miniscule capsule? For Alyan’s novel sprawls across countries – Syria, Lebanon, America – people, and, most of all, matters of the heart.

This is a multi-generational story, much like her previous Salt Houses (haven’t read it). It begins with Idris’ decision to sell the family house in Beirut, which becomes a cause for the entire family – Idris, his wife Mazna, and their three children Ava, Mimi, and Naj – to come together for a couple of weeks. From here, we are taken into the stories of each of these people, how they came to be where they are, and what lies ahead for them.

The Arsonists’ City is a gorgeously character-driven book and Alyan draws each of them with fine brushstrokes. Of all the sub-plots related to each person, I loved Mazna and Zakaria’s the most with its bittersweet,
heartbreaking story. Alyan’s character construction is so intricate and detailed that at the end of the book, I felt like I knew each of them personally, as if I was in on their secrets and their innermost thoughts.

But what I enjoyed, nay, relished was Alyan’s storytelling, the slow build up, teasing out gentle bends and folds. There were parts where I wished it to move faster, and some plot points that seemed to be purposeless, not going anywhere. My interest was sustained through these places only due to her exquisite writing, which made me forget my quibbles.

Really not much of anything here. Good for a few laughs. I think I might be the wrong party for this topic because I believe I have already mastered the art in this year of Covid.

Disclaimer: I am in the process of reviewing this novel for a magazine so I will update my review once that is published.

But for now, I'd like to briefly mention that I've been looking forward to reading this gem.

Hala Alyan's 'The Arsonists’ City' is a timely novel that reflects the complexities of the twenty-first century. Moving back and forth in time, it tells the intergenerational story of a Lebanese/Syrian family who emigrates to California during the war of ’78.

Without a doubt, this novel will take its place among the most important novels of 2021, with its focus on contemporary issues such as immigration and refugee crisis. Alyan masterfully highlights the ways in which history repeats itself, as well as our global connectedness by bringing Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Native American characters and their historical trauma together. The novel also explores what it means to be "home," familial ties, and queerness in the context of post-immigration with a poetic language.

The Arsonists’ City is a Beirut that Hala Alyan depicts so deftly you sense its energy, beauty, and suffering. “The Paris of the Middle East,” is a city under pressure: the pressure of history and violent divisions, urban and cosmopolitan, yet lapped by the eternal Mediterranean Sea. Elegant homes like the one at the contested heart of the Nasr family saga; refugee camps that never disappear, along with the strife that created them. Within is her family of characters who are so vivid and emotionally complicated that they feel like your family, with all their aggravations, envy, grudges, but brimming with love and humor. The author said about her previous, much acclaimed and best selling 2017 novel Salt Houses “... I wanted to write something that avoided the usual (media and art) portrayal of Palestinians and Arabs, which often involves politicizing or exotifying them.” She succeeds brilliantly. The big questions of homeplace and nation play out in the family’s story, and it is engrossing throughout. A wise, sweeping and satisfying novel of generations, dreams,and migrations,beautifully realized. Highly recommended. I received an advance digital copy from NetGalley.

Well written and a very interesting read.. Nice character development and a very decent pace. The author does excel at mood and atmosphere and succeeds in weaving an engrossing tale.

This was my first time reading something from Hala Alyan and I'm impressed. I enjoyed the writing and the depth with which family dynamics and chracters are built. This is an interesting multicultural novel, a bit slow and overwhelming to read at times, but it still leaves you with some sort of nostalgia for the characters that you leave on page.

The Arsonists' City is a compelling family saga evolving across decades and multiple cities and involves an array of family members. Mazna and Idris, the parents decide to travel back to Beirut from California, at the compulsion of Idris to sell their ancestral house. Their three children live in different cities. Ava, the eldest lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids, is grappling with marital issues. Mimi, a struggling musician lives with his girlfriend Harper in Austin, Texas. Naj the youngest and a famous musician is yet to get over a heartbreak, lives in Beirut. The children join the parents in Beirut for a summer to prevent the sale of the house and to organize a memorial for their late grandfather. The story is narrated from multiple POVs. But the centre of the plot is Mazna's story which started out as a young woman's stretching of her boundaries and exploring life, wanting an adventure one summer that leads to repercussions across timelines affecting not only her but generations to come.

The characters have so much depth that unravels as the story progresses. The book gave a glimpse of Damascus and Beirut of yesteryears and how war affects people in different ways. Overall The Arsonists' City is a thought provoking and engrossing book. I absolutely loved the character development and the progress of the storyline. Though the book begins with Zakaria, an important character, the book left me wanting more for his perspective though I know the book is not about Zakaria but his role in Mazna and Idris's life.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an intense yet enjoyable read. Thank you Net Galley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the arc.

‘Tonight the man will die.’

Two generations of a family: a Syrian mother, a Lebanese father and three children. The Nasr family are split between Beirut and the USA, but their father’s ancestral home in Beirut has anchored them. When his father dies, Idris Nasr decides to sell the house. His wife Mazna insists that the family reunite in Beirut. She opposes the sale and wants son Mimi (Marwan) and daughter Ava to travel to Beirut, where their sister Naj lives, to try to save the house.

‘Grief will make you do crazy things.’

Everyone does as Mazna requests (who could resist the pressure she applies?), and we learn about the past, about the secrets that each holds close. Typical family tensions are underlined (and relationships sometimes undermined) by the past, by war, religious differences, and regrets.

We learn of Mazna’s dreams and disappointments, of a life straddling two cultures and being unable to settle completely in either. The pace is slow, each character’s story unfolds gradually. Beirut is not the same city that Idris and Mazna left and, without their grandfather, it holds different memories for Ava and Mimi. Naj lives in Beirut and her life is complicated.

Through these characters, we see the dislocation caused by war and by migration, and the disconnect between dreams and reality. Ms Alyan brings her characters to life: flawed and vulnerable as they map their own relationships and spaces.

‘The sun has set now, and whatever light is left is dying, leaving to be reclaimed tomorrow.’

I loved this novel.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

"Tonight the man will die. In some ways, the city already seems resigned to it, the Beirut dusk uncharacteristically flat, cloudy, a peculiar staleness rippling through the trees like wind"



I received an Arc from Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange of an honest review

Star rating- 3.25
Technical rating- 7.5/10
Enjoyment rating- 4/10

This is one of those books that made me question how I review books. I was constantly thinking about how I'm going to rate this. I didn't want to rate it too low because I want to be fair to the author; this is a genuinely good book. But I didn't want to rate it too high because I want my ratings to match my reading tastes because I now have some amazing friends who read my reviews (looking at you Jess, if you're not reading this consider me disappointed). I don't want to mislead anyone who has similar tastes in books as me. (I've apparently convinced some people to read some books, which is amazing, but I'm paranoid of this kind of power)

Premise-
"The Nasr family is spread across the globe—Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. A Syrian mother, a Lebanese father, and three American children: all have lived a life of migration. Still, they’ve always had their ancestral home in Beirut—a constant touchstone—and the complicated, messy family love that binds them. But following his father's recent death, Idris, the family's new patriarch, has decided to sell.

The decision brings the family to Beirut, where everyone unites against Idris in a fight to save the house. They all have secrets—lost loves, bitter jealousies, abandoned passions, deep-set shame—that distance has helped smother. But in a city smoldering with the legacy of war, an ongoing flow of refugees, religious tension, and political protest, those secrets ignite, imperiling the fragile ties that hold this family together."

We follow 4 perspectives-

Mazna, a young and beautiful woman from a poor family, with big dreams of Hollywood and becoming an actress.

Ava, Mimi, and Naj. Mazna's kids, summoned back to Beirut as mentioned above.

I'd recommend this book to you if-

- you are a character-driven reader. This is VERY much, a character-driven book. The character work is one of the best I've seen. Definitely in the top 15. I have a feeling that I will bring along a part of Mazna with me in my memories. She is just so real. If you'd like to analyze character motivations, their emotions; delve into what makes them tick, their fears, their joy. I'd honestly believe you if you said "These characters are real people."

- You are patient for the tea. There are quite a few betrayals, and a few heartaches (under hyping this one). But it takes quite a few pages (about a few hundred) to get there. After introducing the characters, the author takes her sweet time exploring the character's life story. The water has been set in the kettle, explores the character work before you get burned with scalding hot, sweet, and JUICY tea. I am a nosy person so I liked the reveals, but it takes a bit too long for me to love it.

- You have the time. This is a relatively slow-paced book (I had a few issues with it but I'll discuss it later) This is definitely a spring/summer book, which is a great move on the publisher's part because this book comes out in March. Read slowly, enjoy the atmosphere, read in a preferably a breezy area. Let the book lead your mind.



I personally didn't like this book as much I expected to, because I anticipated a fast-paced family drama with reveals and turns left and right. But here, it's a bit slower paced. The interesting thing about this book is, that it builds up the twists right in front of you, and it teases you and builds suspense on how other characters will react to it. I was not a big fan of the pacing but I'm not gonna lie, it dragged a lot through the middle. There was a purpose to it, the character work is amazing but I wish it was more balanced but the author clearly succeeded on what they intended to do, so I'm not gonna spend more time on that.

My biggest issue with the book is the formatting. BUT, they did mention that the book will be going through more editing, so hopefully, it won't be an issue anymore when it gets published. The book is kinda on the bigger side of the general fiction page count. The book is formatted as such. There is one storyline of a portion of the character's life. This part takes about 50-80 pages. This part is divided into bite-sized passages which adds to this part and by extension the story. My issue here is, this is kinda too long. I was more interested in Mazna's POV, I was less interested in the other POVs and got frustrated when it went of for pages upon pages. The shift from one POV to the other is pretty jarring because the character voices and narrative is so different (which is a good thing, but it contrasted with this negatively). Sometimes it went on for so long, I kinda forgot what was happening on the other "plot thread".
I just think that smoothing these out would do the book a lot of favors.


Sorry for the rant, onto what I liked.

The characters (obviously)

The writing. There are just some nuggets here, that hit so deep. It is poetic in a straightforward manner. I love the way the author handles the characters. In front of you; the character dreams and dares to hope, but you know how it turns out from the other (future) POV. Not gonna delve too deep because I'm terrified of accidentally spoiling anyone.

This review is not as clear and articulate as I'd like it to be, or as much as my other reviews but it is what it is; my brain vomit. I found it hard to write this review because I have too many thoughts on this book for it to be a coherent review. I tried; read it if you want to.

If you have read this far, thank you very much. Happy reading.

This one wasted NO time getting into it. Also, this is my third book in 2020 with mamas from #ParkSlope. Can’t wait to see how this one goes because, let me tell you, it is off to an amazing start! Noticed there is a hashtag #halaalyanfangirl and if that’s this author, I think I know why.

I am so very glad I gave this book a chance.
I normally shy away from books that delve into family dynamics, but there was something about this one that caught my eye . And then, this Syrian-Lebanese family story hooked me from beginning to end.

The book is centered on 3 siblings that are called to their ancestral home in Beirut for the possibility of a sale. Their father is set on doing it, and their mom is scared, insisting they help to change his mind. We see parents and siblings under the same roof after being scattered for so long, having to face each other and their personal issues to remember what it means to be a family again.
Hala Alyan writes beautifully, and all her characters were so compelling and believable I could not put the book down. There were so many layers of struggle, grief, regret, and doubt, and character development was so good that the switch in timelines and POVs did not bother me as I thought it would.
The political nuances here and there, the conflict and destruction in Syria and in Lebanon were a bonus I enjoyed very much. Sometimes one is so accustomed to war it becomes just a backdrop.

I thank NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this ARC. I definitely want to read more from Hala Alyan