Hala Alyan Archive

A Family of Strangers in The Arsonists’ City

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Behind the straightforward family disagreement that underpins Hala Alyan’s new novel lies all the complications, subtleties, and dishonesties upon which families are founded, along with the fears, longings, and displacement more particular to immigrant households.

Band of Mothers

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A few days before my son was born, my parents and sister came to Princeton, where my husband and I lived at the time, to witness the birth. They had found a sublet a few blocks away from our apartment, but my mother wanted to spend the first few

Scattered to the Wind: Three Novels on Migration from the Middle East and North Africa

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Three debut novels shed light on migration from the Middle East and North Africa, taking up themes of displacement, longing for home, and the split narratives of a life “before” and “after.”

The Art of Inhabiting: Hala Alyan and Characterization

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The places and spaces of Salt Houses play a complex role in the craft of characterization.