Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

235 reviews

tofuandtears's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I've read essay compilations from students in Gaza; I've read academic text about the changing definitions of antisemitism, about occupation and surveillance, about the ongoing genocide that began in 1948 - all of it gut-wrenching, needless, and horrifying. But in so few pages, this struck a chord in me that I will not soon forget.

The first part was difficult to read - I found myself shaking and sick to my stomach. The second part is equally as difficult to read but for different reasons. There is nothing that I can say better than this text did - it should be required reading in place of Albert Camus' The Stranger.

The cancellation of the literary prize for this book in Germany for expressing, "antisemitic attitudes" (utter bullshit) is deplorable and disgusting. The violence against the Palestinian people and the erasure of their experiences and very existence must end. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

brynalexa's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The first part was extremely emotional to read. It’s very hard to put yourself into a camp of bigoted colonizers for 50 pages. The second part was two parts lovely and one part dread. It came together in the end. Very moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Islamophobia

Minor: Genocide and Alcohol

caprivoyant's review against another edition

It feels like someone broke their heart open and put it on paper to write this book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Colonisation

noella19's review

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

5.0

A masterpiece.
Poetic.

That ending broke me. Not sure what I expected but still I didn’t want that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

bernardo7894's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Violence

maddiereadswords's review against another edition

4.5

A book that is equal parts heavy and powerful. Check the trigger warnings before reading, but god is it worth a read if you can handle it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.5

i found the clinical tone of the first part challenging, in contrast to the extreme readability of the second part with its masterful choice of narrator. the motifs seemed sparse, even for a novella, and a little heavy-handed, especially in the first part. but overall it was a worthwhile, important, haunting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

judah_g's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and War

rebeccakoury's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

There's no way I can rate this. Read content warnings before pick this up.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

onthesamepage's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It astonishes me how Shibli manages to paint such a complete picture of life under colonization in such a short book. The prose isn't flowery at all but very straightforward, and yet it packs a punch. The book is split into two parts—the first part deals with a group of Israeli soldiers as they patrol a segment of the desert, and capture (and rape) a young Palestinian woman. The second part follows another Palestinian woman, many years after the rape, who reads about this incident and becomes obsessed with retracing it. Both parts hit hard for different reasons, but I found myself especially affected by the latter one. The character read as neurodivergent to me, and following her in her daily life, with all the restrictions and fears and anxieties imposed upon her by the colonial state, was heartbreaking.

I truly can't recommend this enough, but do check out the content warnings before starting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape