LAsh

“Atef wants to tell his children that they don’t understand, that their view from the sidelines is incomplete, that somehow in the murky cave of his marriage—not exactly happy but not unhappy either, given to strain, months at a time when Alia retreats into her fury and Atef into himself—is a miraculous conch of love, something unpolished but alive, pulsing.”
― Hala Alyan, Salt Houses

“Salma had begun to recognize that the world was no longer made for certain types of women. There was a need for spine and even anger.”
― Hala Alyan, Salt Houses

“Punch me, he wants to yell at Mustafa. Tell me to fuck off, hit me in the face. Pick up that goddamn suitcase, walk down the driveway. I would’ve followed you. I would’ve followed you. Take me with you. You can save yourself. We can both live.”
― Hala Alyan, Salt Houses

“Motherhood doesn’t suit me, she once confessed to Budur, drunk. I don’t have the stomach for not knowing what comes next.”
― Hala Alyan, Salt Houses