Reviews tagging 'War'

Eine Nebensache by Adania Shibli

259 reviews

elislittlelibrary's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is not easy to read, but I can only recommend it! 
The book is split into two parts, which are very distinctively different from one another. The writing, showing the personality of the characters, is so different, it's quite astonishing it was written by the same person. As implied by the title, the book relies on 'minor details'. Sounds, places or small events that seem minor in the first part are used again, sometimes in a totally different context, in the second part. While very subtle, this repetition is really strong. This is not an easy read at all and this repetition adds to that. 
This book is a literary masterpiece and the story itself is so important as well. This is a truly disturbing read and will probably shock you (especially if you haven't read a lot about Palestine and Israel). So please keep in mind that this book will (and should) disturb you, but if you can handle it, please, please read this book! I have picked this book up in light of the fact that the author was uninvited from the Frankfurt book fair, where she was due to receive a prize for 'Minor Detail'. While I'm still enraged this happened, I'm glad I found this book and have bought a physical copy of the book after reading a copy from the library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Death, and War

veyrith's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, War, and Rape

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book is awful and beautiful and horrifying and necessary. This fucking wrecked me and I'm going to think about it forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, War, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

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: Colonisation, Sexual assault, and Islamophobia

Moderate: War, Racism, and Rape

manicake's review against another edition

4.0

Twisted my stomach. I almost had to put it away at a point, but I’m happy I pushed through. Free Palestine! 🇵🇸

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Rape and Grief

joymargot's review against another edition

As others have said, it somehow doesn’t feel right to give this a star rating.

An uncomfortable read, but an important one. I confess I wasn’t completely drawn in by the mundane matter-of-fact writing style, but it serves as a contrast to the ending of each chapter.

A quick read, and a valuable insight into life under occupation. Free Palestine! 🇵🇸🍉🕊️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Genocide, Death, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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

erinjdouglass's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Xenophobia, Torture, and War

herelieshenry's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A difficult, gutting, but incredibly important read. Not only relevant, not only important, but also incredibly well-written and impactful. The writing is very intentional in its largely objective perspective, straightforward and effective with a strong sense of place and mood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Hate crime, Rape, War, and Genocide

Moderate: Gun violence, Child death, Child abuse, Islamophobia, Violence, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Ableism, Deportation, and Kidnapping

plantonic_friendships's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It was a hard read for a myriad of reasons. I typically listen to nonfiction. And while the first half may be based off of actual events, it still read as fiction. Truly a lot of minor details that mattered, so I had to reread about three times to truly get the events to sink in. Part of the reason I missed so much was because of the focus on minor details to really push home how "mundane" these days in these characters' lives were despite the atrocities happening/being committed.

The ending was jarring and truly devastating. Because, here is this woman trying to uncover and understand this tragedy only for the tragedy to continue onto her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Genocide, Murder, Islamophobia, War, and Misogyny