Salt Houses

Have I mentioned recently how much I love multigenerational sagas? This one is rich and complex without being too long. It explores the journey of a Palestinian family, the people they marry, the places they live in exile, and the nature of freedom and feminism. I also appreciated that while there are many books that are and should be written about poorer Palestinians stuck as refugees, this book looks at the life of upper-middle-class Palestinians who have the ability to move.

Men play an interesting role in this book; they are there, they are discussed, but with one exception, they fade into the background. It's really about the women - their willfullness, their banal lives, their reactions - and their relationships with one another.