Hala Alyan on the Quiet Moments that Comprise Her Devastating New Novel

At first glance, the fiercely loving family at the heart of Hala Alyan’s extraordinary The Arsonists’ City has it all. The parents, Idris and Mazna, lead a life of upper-class comfort in California, while their three children pursue seemingly glamorous careers in Brooklyn, Austin, and Beirut. Yet the family is thrown into disarray when Idris impulsively decides to sell his family home in Beirut following the death of his father. Mazna, a former actress in her native Syria, uses her formidable charm and political skills to summon all three children to the family man for one last visit to the ancestral manse. Yet once reunited, long held family secrets erupt, threatening to upend the fragile peace among family members and causing everyone to reckon with uncomfortable truths in their own personal lives.