Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

176 reviews

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

joumana's review

medium-paced

5.0

It took me a while to finish this book. It is only about 110 pages, but it took me time to go through some of the pages that describe unspeakable violence. 
The author does an excellent job talking about the occupation, the Nakba, and the erasure of history. 
The book is called Minor Detail, and is pretty short, like an unassuming minor book, but it holds a lot of power. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Colonisation, and War

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

Moderate: Colonisation

shaynicole's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

robinks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Phew, this little novel packs a punch. Adania does a masterful job of narrating from the perspectives of two very different characters. What happened and continues to happen in Palestine is horrific. #FreePalestine

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

aprettybookshelf's review

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and War

brujakatt's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Islamophobia, Medical content, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

thetenaciousbookworm's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Rape, Murder, and Colonisation

astridmalmhester's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Islamophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and War

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sudden, abrupt, and utterly devastating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail