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nneka's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
heartbreaking and raw.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, and Murder
lrgluck's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Violence, and Islamophobia
dfriend12's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
charming_killerqueen's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and War
Moderate: Death and Rape
coopireads8's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and War
mreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Vomit
avrilxxx_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The moment I realized I’d reached the last page, a heavy feeling of helplessness clawed at my chest. Where is the justice she deserved?!
The ending, I think, tries to show what life under occupation is like—there’s no closure, no justice. It’s heartbreaking and raw. May Allah end the occupation in Palestine.
As for the writing, it’s incredibly well-crafted and compelling. The author never mentions the characters' names, only referring to them as “he” or “she.” The first half of the book is written in a matter-of-fact style—detached, reporting only the "what, when, who, where, and how," but never the "why." Yet, in the second half, the tone shifts. It becomes deeply emotional, with vivid descriptions of the protagonist's inner turmoil. This contrast is stunning and makes you truly feel for her.
The ending? Oh, god don’t even ask. This is the kind of book you have to experience yourself.
#FreePalestine
The ending, I think, tries to show what life under occupation is like—there’s no closure, no justice. It’s heartbreaking and raw. May Allah end the occupation in Palestine.
As for the writing, it’s incredibly well-crafted and compelling. The author never mentions the characters' names, only referring to them as “he” or “she.” The first half of the book is written in a matter-of-fact style—detached, reporting only the "what, when, who, where, and how," but never the "why." Yet, in the second half, the tone shifts. It becomes deeply emotional, with vivid descriptions of the protagonist's inner turmoil. This contrast is stunning and makes you truly feel for her.
The ending? Oh, god don’t even ask. This is the kind of book you have to experience yourself.
#FreePalestine
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
lucyob's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Murder
tamarant4's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Murder, and War
haidaway_'s review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and War