Reviews with content warning for Racism - Minor Detail

Wow. This was a haunting read that hits particularly hard right now. I thought that the recurring motifs between the two halves of the novella were really clever. I also thought that the banal, almost clinical descriptions of both the horrifying things the Israeli soldiers do to the young girl in the first half and the injustices that the Palestinian woman and her peers have to endure in the second half really clearly revealed the horrors of the occupation. I’m still reeling from the ending - normally I’m not a huge fan of abrupt endings but it really does work well in a novella like this. Read this book.

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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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cturn's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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bchantele15's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

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tatyana_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No

4.0

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savvylit's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

Minor Detail is a short and intense novel in two parts. Part one features a third person perspective of 'an Israeli commander in August 1949, one year after the Nakba. The cruelty of this portion, the utterly inhumane and horrible attitudes held by the soldiers... It's damning and sickening.

Part two features a first person perspective twenty five years into the future, focused on a Palestinian woman. After connecting closely with a news article, she embarks on a dangerous journey across occupied territory to discover the truth behind a brutal story. The way that Shibli has woven terror into this woman's daily life under occupation is heartbreaking and unsettling. She's adjusted to the sounds of bombings, to being confined to a settlement, to constantly encountering callous and violent Israeli soldiers. And the conclusion of her story? Absolutely brutal.

As a whole, I think that Minor Detail is a very powerful read that offers an enlightening glimpse into the common cruelties of life in occupied Palestine, prior to the current genocide.

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

There’s an old saying I’ve heard about tragedies, don’t show the faces of many tell the story of one. I think this book does such a great job of that. Giving us a main character, whose pretty quirky, and showing how hard her life is as a Palestinian. Making the apartheid Palestinians experience so visceral and personal. My one criticism is the beginning half through the soldier’s POV. I didn’t like the writing as much as the rest of the book. Although I get why it was told (for context), the rest of the story was far more compelling.

“Sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific.”

“The truth of it will never stop chasing me.”

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addiesbookshelf_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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