An emotional family saga that is spans the wars in Lebanon, then Syria, the Palestinian displacement and the immigrant experience in the United States.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"The Nasr family is spread across the globe—Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. All have lived a life of migration but they’ve always had their ancestral home in Beirut."

A slow paced story which felt a bit dragged out.

3☆

When I read Salt Houses by Hala Alyan I was blown away by her superb writing and the characters she created so it's fair to say I was super enthused about reading her latest novel <b>Arsonist's City</b>.    That enthusiasm was well rewarded within moments of starting and never let up.     Alyan's prologue had me in its grips from the first sentence to the last, her words instantly transporting me to a refugee camp in Beirut where she set the scene for a violent death, retribution for a past wrong doing.   Within in a few short pages she built tension,  introduced a religious war, created a character to care about, introduced two others by association, and revealed a pivotal event which would change many lives.   

Part One was a complete change of pace from the Prologue.   It quickly became apparent Alyan's story had leapt forward by thirty or forty years as readers were introduced to three siblings,  Ava, Mimi and Naj.    We come to understand they're the adult offspring of Mazna and Idris the two others mentioned in the Prologue.     Not only do we find out their secrets and inner thoughts but we learn something of their backgrounds and their present day lives.    Alyan has an incredible talent for creating realistic and delightfully flawed characters with such depth to each one.   As readers you may cheer on or be appalled by their actions but you can't fail to feel the tug and pull of their desires and appreciate the mindset that lead them to behave that way.

As the story progressed it alternated between the present and the past.   We hear how and why Mazna and Idris married, how he'd been granted asylum and moved to America.    Individually they dreamed big.   Idris was to become a heart specialist whilst Mazna yearned for Hollywood.     Acting was the thing for which she'd achieved a small measure of success in Damascus and she hoped to put this artistic talent to good use in America.    Unfortunately, assimilation was not so easy.     

For much of the present day storyline the Nasr family were all together in Beirut.   Back in the family home for one last time before Idris sells it.      This alone was a divisive issue but as is often the case when families spend extended periods of time together things are off key.     They grated on each other.   They squabbled.   Long repressed jealousies and resentments rose to the surface.     A recurring theme throughout was  "People deserve to have their secrets" and my goodness did this family have plenty.      From lies of omission to outright deceptions.    This family's love for each other was complex but as they spent more time together in miniscule ways they seemed to be gelling and getting closer.

Like the Nasr family the story was complex and multilayered and
I've struggled to do justice to this book as there were so many topics I wanted to touch upon.    The lasting impacts of war and the lives of refugees.    The loneliness of moving to a faraway land,  the immigrant experience of never truly and fully assimilating due to cultural differences.   The need for secrets and dramatic steps taken to keep them.  The joys of being blessed with artistic talents and the disappointments and frustrations of having to suppress these same qualities.    So many missed opportunities and loves lost.   I was moved by the story and the writing and would encourage other readers to give this book a try.     Meanwhile I'll be watching out for any future book Alyan writes.  She's not to be missed.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.
4.5 stars on Goodreads

DNF @ 58%. Thanks HMH and NetGalley for the e-ARC. I hate to do this since I loved Alyan’s debut novel, but this book is entirely too long and lacks the emotional resonance from any one character or story to propel the plot.

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 

I have mixed feelings about this book. The premise is promising; a family gathering together at the house of their late patriarch to hold a memorial whilst at the same time trying to stop the head of the family from selling off the house. 

The head of the family is Idris, a cardiologist who left Beirut many years ago to pursue his studies and build a life in the US. His wife is Mazna, a former actress from Damascus. And with them are their grown-up children Ava, Marwan and Najla, all living separate lives in different parts of the world.

The characters were not very likeable. They are complex, multi layered people which on the one hand makes them realistic, as no one is completely bad or perfectly good. But it does make it hard to root for any of them in the crisis that each have to face. 

And there are skeletons aplenty in everyone’s closets, there’s infidelity, sexuality, jealousy which makes for quite an engrossing read as I was curious to know the what, the why and also how it will all turn out to be. But the unraveling of these problems were slow and only picked up half way through the book. 

It was still a fascinating read into the dynamics of a dysfunctional family caused by regret, guilt, bitterness and rivalry. Yet, despite all that and if you look closely there is still love between them. And it is that love that we hope will pull them together somehow.

If you’re looking for an edgy, gritty read, this might be a good choice. It’s about family but it wasn’t filled with heartwarming moments. The flow of the story was uneven at times, some chapters were long, while some especially the later ones were very short. The ending was realistic and somewhat satisfactory. Overall it was a reasonably good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Houghton Mifflin for the ARC.

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.