Reviews with content warning for Rape - Minor Detail

This book was written in two parts: third person from the POV of the Israeli officer that ends up raping a Palestinian girl in 1949, a year after the Nakba; and first person from the POV of a young Palestinian woman who learns about the girl's rape and murder in 1949 some fifty years or so later.

Every character is unnamed. The first part is from the POV of the Israeli soldier because nobody has ever learned about the girl's experience from her herself. The unnamed soldier is on patrol in the desert with his squad (I'm sure I'm not using these terms correctly). He receives an animal bite one night, and the bite swells up until he is in a lot of pain and barely able to move. This humanizes him and I felt sorry for him for a bit...until I read the rape scene. So of course I was glad he was in pain and I wished pain upon him for the rest of his days.

The second part is from the POV of the Palestinian young woman in present-day West Bank. She is transfixed by the story of the girl's fate because of one minor detail: the fact that it happened exactly 25 years before her birth. So she sets out on a perilous journey to find out more about this girl. Borders are a big part of her narrative; she feels compelled to cross borders when she sees them, and she can't always tell when she's gone too far. And this fact may prove fatal to her, especially given how dangerous it is to be Palestinian in a world ruled by Israel.

This was a poignant story, parallel lives, one moving from beyond the grave to affect the other's.

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ghost_rider's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-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

3.25

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maddiereadswords's review against another edition

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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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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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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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melsage1823's review against another edition

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dark informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Disclaimer: I am not Palestinian please check out own voices reviews to get a qualified in depth opinion on the book.

An incredibly heartbreaking story that shows that reality in living under occupation and colonlism.

This story as good as it was is probably one I'll never be able to pick up again due to how powerful and raw it was. Despite being short and a fictional story Minor Detail was able to perfectly help understand the brutal reality and truths of the Israeli occupation and how much culture and cities have been lost thanks to it. There were certain points I struggled to keep the book open due to how powerful Shibi described the emotions of the woman wanting to discover the little girls story.

I also found it very clever that the two half's of the story were opposite. We got to follow the mind of the oppressor and then near present day the oppressed. In a clever duality way through this genius writing we got to see the damage of the oppressors mindset. This novel cleverly through the contrasting povs allows us to not only understand the mindset drilled into Israeli soldiers but also how colonisation develops over time. Its also impressive how Shibli manages to do all this in such a short amount of pages.

It was brilliant and I do not regret despite its heavy topics picking it up.

There's so much I liked about the novel but before I get onto the positives I will have to get into the one negative that knocked half a star off for me.

This book was really impressive with how much it managed to do in such a short amount of pages but I really wish that it was at least 50 pages or 100 pages longer. I don't mean it out of any disrespect but I wish we had got to know the two pov characters we followed better and that instead of rushing straight into the soldiers pov, we actually got a prologue fron the woman we follow for the second half of the story. It would have made an already great novel even better in my opinion. Also as inventive as the format of the novel was it just wasn't for me. As a Neurodivergent reader it would have been easier to absorb if the part 1, part 2 split was still kept but it also had chapters as well. This book is such an important read that it feels a bit disappointing that it might put off Neurodivergent folk who struggle with reading.

That though is my only criticism, I definitely find this novel an essential read so much that despite it being a fiction story it educates you a lot and clears up what you think you might know about the Israeli occupation. There's so many thinks I wish I could highlight but these are just a few.

I've mentioned in before but I loved the way the two contrasting povs were done. When I first realised we were following the pov of a soldier I groaned and rolled my eyes because I was worried he'd be painted in a sympathetic light but he wasn't. The Soldier is completely unlikeable and irredeemable which gets to show you how brutal Israeli soldiers are in real life. He suffers, causes suffering but you don't feel an once of sympathy for him. You don't route for any of his men either. It's clever in a way that we see the reasons for what the soldiers done especially during the really brutal bits. It also helps us route for the character we follow during the second half of the book who is trying to discover what happened and tell the girls story.

Another thing is the fact that the story isn't sugar coated. Too often media likes to censor or soften the impact of war and colonlism but Minor Detail doesn't shy from the brutalities of the occupation from naming the cities before they were occupied and showing how restricted Palestinians are. All the occupation has gotten even worse you can see how long this issue has gone on and that it was still bad during the time this novel was published. The novel doesn't shy away from it and is a perfect feminist piece showing how each generation of women + girls have had to survive under Israeli control. It shows how women + girls are used and abused as weapons of war. This book will leave you reflective and reeling over the women of Palestinian have had to go through. If you want to be an intersectional feminist this is definitely the book to be picking up.

Finally the language. As a writer myself I love when bold and vivid language is used and given the focus of the novel, Minor Detail uses language really well. Shibli brings war to life in a really morbidly beautiful way that makes your eyes glued to the page. The powerful adjectives and words make you really reflective about the situation in Palestinian and how morally corrupt it is. The language due to how unique and fresh it feels really helps immerse you and show what an occupated Palestinian looks like in the past as well as modern day. A lot of contrasting and distinct language is used to differentiate from both the soldier and journalists povs which I find really clever.

Overall its a really heartbreaking but important read that is essential in helping under what the women of Palestinian have had to face and what its like living under occupation. It's a very interesting fiction book that was made to help people understand the true reality of whats going on.
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

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judah_g's review against another edition

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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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lilaceous's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

characters - ⭐️

plot - ⭐️

engaging to read - ⭐️

would recommend - .5⭐️

would read again - ⭐️

tough read. i had to put it down at one point because it was so visceral and upsetting. i’m still thinking about the main protagonist days later. if you’re looking for palestinian stories of israeli occupation, this is definitely an impactful one.

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kimran_rana's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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