Reviews with content warning for War - Minor Detail

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Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

321 reviews

sakisreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I wasn’t sure what this short novel was going to evoke in me, being so political and all, but I enjoyed it.

Very clever and impactful 😳 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨ Content warnings included below!

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jeimy's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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readbykatherine's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I find it very hard to rate this book because while Minor Detail is technically a work of fiction, it is based off the hundreds of real life Palestinian experiences of unrelenting violence at the hands of the Israeli government and military (IOF).

Even though I will probably never read this book again

the rape that happened in the first part of the book was awful and the author did not shy away from the violence and pure evilness of the act.

I have to credit Adania Shibli (with five stars) for writing a book that thoroughly shook me to my core.

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dfriend12's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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charming_killerqueen's review

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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carlareads8's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was probably one of the hardest novels I have read. The gripping details of the sexual violence committed by the Israeli soldiers was gruesome but it certainly paints a realistic picture Isareli occupation in 1949. The first part was super hard to read (since it came from the Israeli side) and the second part of the book is written by a Palestinian woman. The second part was easier to read and the woman’s strong willingness to find the truth about this girl was captivating. I like how both parts had a different tone and writing style (first part was in 3rd person while the second one was in 1st.

This book is one of the many Palestinian voices that the world needs to urgently listen during this genocide. Calling this book as “anti-Semitic” is proof of the Palestinian erasure and ethnic cleansing.

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mreadsbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

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tamarant4's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

... there was nothing really unusual about the main details, especially when compared with what happens daily in a place dominated by the roar of occupation and ceaseless killing. [loc. 748]

A short, powerful, harrowing novel, in two halves, that examines helplessness, brutality and occupation. The first half of the novel is set in 1949 and follows a squad of Israeli soldiers, focussing on their commander, who's suffering from a festering insect bite. In pain and hallucinating, he perpetrates horror: the slaughter of a group of Bedouin and the gang-rape and murder of a young woman. The commander is never named: nor is the girl. Her dog follows her, howling, as she's driven to her death.

The second half of the novel shifts in tone. A young Palestinian woman, never named, is determined to investigate the murder, which happened exactly 25 years before she was born. Her life is described in minute detail. (I suspect she's neurodivergent). She borrows a colleague's papers so that she can circumvent the travel restrictions and visit the IDF Museum, and the site of the Bedouin girl's death. It's a military zone. A dog is howling. She is shot.

The matter-of-fact, emotionless tone of the first half of the novel is deeply unsettling: we are told nothing about the emotions of those involved, or what happened afterwards. The young woman's narrative, which forms the second part of the book, is full of her fears of crossing borders, especially borders that she doesn't recognise. Perhaps this lack of confidence in her response to social cues is what makes me think that she might be neurodivergent. Or perhaps it is the only way she can stay sane in an occupied country, in a place where her culture has been destroyed like the villages that pepper an old map she uses, but have left no trace in the land through which she travels.

The detachment and restraint of this novel, and the clarity of the translation, made it a superficially easy read: but like blood into sand, or petrol into clothes, Minor Detail has sunk into me and affected my world view.

The story is based on a documented incident: the commander in question stood trial.

Fulfils the ‘A Book Set In A Place That Has Experienced Genocide’ rubric of the Something Bookish Reading Challenge. Palestine is still experiencing genocide: I don't think it has ever stopped, and since the Hamas-led attack on Israel it has become catastrophic. In 2023, Shibli won the German LiBeraturpreis, an annual award for women authors from the Global South, for this novel: the award ceremony was cancelled due to the October 7th attacks.

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haidaway_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Raw and haunting.

I struggle to think of the right words to say to describe the experience reading this book. I still don't think I have them. It's short, but so impactful in such a minute and understated way that you don't even realise its impact until you sit with it for a while and think about what you just read.

The book sets itself in two parts, the first following a cold, distant and systematic voice of an Israeli platoon leader from the time of the Nakba, and the second following an overwhelmingly emotional voice of a modern day woman living in Ramallah. Minor Detail is aptly named, as the book dives into the many minor details that shows parallels from the multitude of experiences in the recurring war in Palestine. It touches on both the distance and intimacy behind these very small details and leaves such a lasting, haunting impact.

I don't think I can put together enough words to give a proper review if I'm being honest. It is simply a book you have to read for yourself and experience.

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brittknee52's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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