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pauli_nemo's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
devestating. can’t give this a star rating. read the german translation in one sitting and deeply disliked it - naturally i expected discomfort rather than enchantment, given the plot of the book, yet i still felt dissatisfied by this portrayal of the continuous banality of evil.
what spoke to me most was the minor detail, the (in)significant date causing connection and motivation between nameless characters generations apart. surely the frustration and upset i feel is reasonable, intentional, and proof of the point getting across… still, i feel irritated rather than pleased with the book. though the second half was significantly more pleasant to read, it did not really compensate for the struggle of finishing “his” perspective in the first part.
what spoke to me most was the minor detail, the (in)significant date causing connection and motivation between nameless characters generations apart. surely the frustration and upset i feel is reasonable, intentional, and proof of the point getting across… still, i feel irritated rather than pleased with the book. though the second half was significantly more pleasant to read, it did not really compensate for the struggle of finishing “his” perspective in the first part.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Colonisation
fleetwoodmac's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and Rape
chelseahelton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Islamophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Kidnapping
samchase112's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Damn. I have to sit with this one. The writing was gripping, the premise gut-wrenching, the message beautiful and terrible all at once. Definitely something meant to be consumed in one sitting, and something I’d recommend to others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Genocide, Vomit, and Antisemitism
anneklein's review
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This was so good. Both parts were enraging, in a good way, but the first one in particular made me feel a disdain that contained so many facets. There's the way the commander refuses to admit he has been bitten by the animal (possibly a snake?), which portrays so well the toxic masculinity of military environments. Then the politics of hygiene, with his efforts to keep himself clean even as he refuses to see his rotten insides; the book emphasises this imagery by repeating the scenes of routine washing and shaving. Later on, he even insists in his head that there is no way that the putrid smell coming from his hut is caused by his own wound. Another facet was obviously the imperialist discourse of the soldiers, the way they speak of their settling. The sterilisation using petrol, the cutting of hair, the humiliation with the water hose...
Yet throughout the violence, a few images appear of life pushing forward regardless. At one point, the commander finds a spider in his hut and spends the next hours looking for insects and crushing them under his feet. The metaphor here is so clear, even more so when considering the military boot as the specific foot that tramples them. And "meanwhile, a little insect advanced towards the edge of the room and slipped through a crack between the floor and the wall, escaping into the gap" (p. 23). After cutting the girl's hair and burning it in a pile alongside her clothes: "Far from the flames that consumed her clothes, a few tiny black ringlets of hair remained scattered across the sand" (34). Finally, on one of the commander's escapades into the hills, "a small black bird charted a line through the sky, which turned a deeper shade of blue [...]" (48).
Each of these minor details, woven so subtly they pass as atmosphere, insist that life prevails, no matter how intense the violence or how unmatched an oppressor may seem. The bird imagery also comes to mind during the second part of the book, as a point of comparison with our narrator's life experience which is in its essence defined by borders (so much so that they are in her head, too).
The second part of the book is so cleverly interwoven with the first, in catastrophic ways that are only apparent once it is too late to turn back. From the beginning we have a parallel in the image of the dog howling, but little by little, as our narrator gets closer to the origin of the story she investigates, details resurface from the first part of the book. Often, these minor details even appear with their wording nearly unchanged from the way they initially appeared. Compare, for example, "carrying a hose wrapped around his arm in equal-sized rings" (30) and "on the sand lies a hose, neatly running from one tree to the next and coiled in equal-sized rings around each trunk" (96). Or "thick clouds of sand sprung from underneath the vehicle's tyres, rose up and followed after them, completely obscuring the view behind" (10), compared to this passage from part 2: "Despite how cautiously I'm driving, thick clouds of dust rise up and swiftly form a halo that obscures the scene behind me" (105).
Through the minor details of our narrator's journey, we realise, in a moment of dramatic irony, that the story she is chasing is one she is already recreating. Her search turns her into a living participant of the story, includes her in ways that go beyond mere research. The truth lies not necessarily in the specific answers of what had happened, but in the shared lived experience between her and the girl from part 1. By the time we follow this logic to its inevitable conclusion, it is much too late.
Yet throughout the violence, a few images appear of life pushing forward regardless. At one point, the commander finds a spider in his hut and spends the next hours looking for insects and crushing them under his feet. The metaphor here is so clear, even more so when considering the military boot as the specific foot that tramples them. And "meanwhile, a little insect advanced towards the edge of the room and slipped through a crack between the floor and the wall, escaping into the gap" (p. 23). After cutting the girl's hair and burning it in a pile alongside her clothes: "Far from the flames that consumed her clothes, a few tiny black ringlets of hair remained scattered across the sand" (34). Finally, on one of the commander's escapades into the hills, "a small black bird charted a line through the sky, which turned a deeper shade of blue [...]" (48).
Each of these minor details, woven so subtly they pass as atmosphere, insist that life prevails, no matter how intense the violence or how unmatched an oppressor may seem. The bird imagery also comes to mind during the second part of the book, as a point of comparison with our narrator's life experience which is in its essence defined by borders (so much so that they are in her head, too).
The second part of the book is so cleverly interwoven with the first, in catastrophic ways that are only apparent once it is too late to turn back. From the beginning we have a parallel in the image of the dog howling, but little by little, as our narrator gets closer to the origin of the story she investigates, details resurface from the first part of the book. Often, these minor details even appear with their wording nearly unchanged from the way they initially appeared. Compare, for example, "carrying a hose wrapped around his arm in equal-sized rings" (30) and "on the sand lies a hose, neatly running from one tree to the next and coiled in equal-sized rings around each trunk" (96). Or "thick clouds of sand sprung from underneath the vehicle's tyres, rose up and followed after them, completely obscuring the view behind" (10), compared to this passage from part 2: "Despite how cautiously I'm driving, thick clouds of dust rise up and swiftly form a halo that obscures the scene behind me" (105).
Through the minor details of our narrator's journey, we realise, in a moment of dramatic irony, that the story she is chasing is one she is already recreating. Her search turns her into a living participant of the story, includes her in ways that go beyond mere research. The truth lies not necessarily in the specific answers of what had happened, but in the shared lived experience between her and the girl from part 1. By the time we follow this logic to its inevitable conclusion, it is much too late.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
jokf's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Really strong beginning and ending! But the midle of the book was i little hard to get through:/ I would still definetly recommend this book, if youre interested in learning about palestine. Its a great book, just little slow<3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, and War
nishath's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
krby26's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Wow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, and War
devipurwanti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Berangkat dari keinginan untuk memahami Palestina lebih dalam, terutama dari penulis lokalnya, dan seringnya buku ini diulas di lini masaku. Akhirnya aku memutuskan untuk membawa pulang “Detail Kecil” dari toko buku.
Buku ini membagi dua sudut pandang kontras. Pertama, sudut pandang ketiga yang menyoroti seorang tentara Israel di tahun 1949, dari kehidupan di kamp militer sampai keterlibatannya dalam sebuah tragedi. Kedua, sudut pandang pertama dari perempuan Palestina yang menangkap detail-detail kecil yang sering diabaikan, lalu memutuskan untuk mengungkap tragedi bertahun-tahun silam.
Sambil menerka-nerka makna dari judul “Detail Kecil” yang ternyata mengungkap refleksi yang jauh lebih pilu daripada tragedi itu sendiri, aku belajar juga tentang meriset peristiwa sensitif, terutama bagaimana karakter dalam buku ini menggali pandangan dari narasumber yang punya sudut pandang berseberangan.
Penggambaran situasi dalam buku ini sangat detail, sesuai judulnya. Dari hal sederhana seperti rutinitas mandi—aku bahkan bisa mengendus aroma tentara itu di gurun—sampai deskripsi diorama di museum Israel. Meskipun terkadang menjemukan tetapi ini mendukung imajinasiku yang terbatas untuk ikut hadir di situasi yang penulis bangun. Buku ini mendesakku untuk mengumpat “anjing” sebelum akhirnya ditutup dengan kehampaan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Animal cruelty and Injury/Injury detail
kestrel_of_the_pages's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Short but difficult read.
The first half follows the point of view from a commanding officer of the Israeli occupying army a year after the Nakba, 1949, and the second half takes place in what feels like early 2000's and follows a Palestinian reporter trying to solve a mystery caused by said CO.
The commanding officer is heinous. The deeds depicted are absolutely atrocious and true to what many Bedouin, Arab, Palestinian women of the time faced. I was physically ill through most of the two stories and the end had me in furious tears. It was so difficult to read knowing this is rooted in reality, the weight of the importance is tangible despite the size of this novella.
A relentlessly true story that is approachable enough to get people to read the daily reality Palestinians have been subjected to.
The first half follows the point of view from a commanding officer of the Israeli occupying army a year after the Nakba, 1949, and the second half takes place in what feels like early 2000's and follows a Palestinian reporter trying to solve a mystery caused by said CO.
The commanding officer is heinous. The deeds depicted are absolutely atrocious and true to what many Bedouin, Arab, Palestinian women of the time faced. I was physically ill through most of the two stories and the end had me in furious tears. It was so difficult to read knowing this is rooted in reality, the weight of the importance is tangible despite the size of this novella.
A relentlessly true story that is approachable enough to get people to read the daily reality Palestinians have been subjected to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation