Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

4 reviews

danielledeal's review

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dark emotional informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Several content warnings, definitely read the synopsis. Also - spiders (mentioned and implied bites). 

This story is told in two perspectives - not back and forth, but in two parts. Each perspective was difficult to read but for different reasons. Focusing on the second, a woman living in in modern day (mid 2010s, I believe) West Bank, occupied Palestine. Her internal monologue was long winded with paragraphs spanning multiple pages and repetitive thought patterns that occasionally left my attention wandering. Her detailing of life under occupation was eye-opening, detailed in equal parts casualness and anxiousness. I would recommend for anyone looking for more Palestinian voices, but be prepared for the heavy subject matter. 
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kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-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? No

3.75

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tenderbench's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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

5.0

This was a harrowing story about the horrors of settler-colonial violence, one that makes clear that these aren’t a thing of the past and that they will keep repeating so long as the settler-colonial state exists.

The simple writing style employed here is incredibly effective, allowing the reader to look beyond the denotative to the connotative. There was so much to think about, such as the potential insect metaphor for the futility and brutality of colonisation found in the first part (I could be wrong with this interpretation). Also, and I may again be off the mark here, but I believe the only time direct speech was used was when an Israeli character was glorifying the settler-colonialism of Israel. I thought this was significant, as it suggests that even within her own story, the Palestinian main character’s voice is given less weight (through indirect speech) than her oppressors, again illustrating the ills of settler-colonialism. There are countless more examples of deeper meaning to be found.

The book being split into two parts was another skilful choice as it provided the opportunity for parallels which demonstrated, sickeningly, the repetition of settler-colonial violence as well as providing clear contrast between the voices of the Israeli military officer and the Palestinian civilian.

Gut-wrenching is not a strong enough word for this story. I could not put it down. Shibli did not deserve to have her ceremony cancelled. Read books by Palestinian authors!!!
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