The Arsonists' City

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The Arsonists' City is Hala Alyan's second novel, published by HarperCollins in 2020. The book structure follows the Nasr family into the past and the present repeatedly to unfold the intergenerational trauma caused by war and secrets passed down from parents to children. [1]

Contents

Plot

Idris Nasr, the new patriarch of the Nasr family after his father’s death, decides to sell his childhood home in Beirut, Lebanon. The matriarch of the family, Mazna Nasr dislikes the home in Beirut due to all the memories she had from her adolescence with Zakaria- Idris’ childhood friend- but despite this she asks for her children’s help to prevent Idris from selling the home.

In the present time, we follow the children of Mazna and Idris, who struggle deeply to assimilate to American culture as many children of migrants do. So much so that it was a factor as to why Naj decided to move back to Beirut, despite having to stay closeted.

The family decides to go back to Idris' home in Beirut to hold a service for his father, in which during that time the book flips to the past, giving us a glimpse of the type of relationship Mazna, Zakaria, and Idris had during the civil war.

Characters

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References

  1. Lou, Jo (2021-03-05). "War Is a Trauma That Follows Us from Home to Home". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  2. Alghoul, Diana (2021-04-01). "Exploring generational trauma with The Arsonists' City". New Arab. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  3. 1 2 Hankir, Zahra (2021-03-19). "Growing in All Directions". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. "The Arsonists' City". Kirkus Reviews.