I can’t remember when the last time was that I read an opening line as powerful and attention-grabbing as in Hala Alyan’s The Arsonists’ City. It reads: “TONIGHT THE MAN will die.” And this was only in the book’s preface, the whole of which was extremely interesting. It quickly and succinctly introduces the reader to the history of the civil war in Lebanon and the conflict between religious factions.
In the first chapter we meet an extended family that emigrated from Lebanon to the United States. The patriarch has recently lost his father who had remained in Lebanon, and he’s decided he wants to sell his father’s house there. To do so, however, all three of his adult children, two of whom live in the US and one in Lebanon, must be present. During the course of this brief chapter, we learn several amusing, quirky, humorous and dysfunctional details about several of the characters, even those not directly present.
I find the writing style of this author to be engaging, fast-paced, and often witty. It’s with great anticipation that I look forward to reading the rest of this book.
In the first chapter we meet an extended family that emigrated from Lebanon to the United States. The patriarch has recently lost his father who had remained in Lebanon, and he’s decided he wants to sell his father’s house there. To do so, however, all three of his adult children, two of whom live in the US and one in Lebanon, must be present. During the course of this brief chapter, we learn several amusing, quirky, humorous and dysfunctional details about several of the characters, even those not directly present.
I find the writing style of this author to be engaging, fast-paced, and often witty. It’s with great anticipation that I look forward to reading the rest of this book.