Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Minor Detail

Holy shit.
If I’ve read a book with this writing style before, it’s been long enough that I don’t remember it.
This book is exceptional. Even when nothing was happening, I was still tense and riveted.
Wow.

Content Warnings

bookish_bailee's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced

5.0

One of the most emotionally difficult reads for me recently.
Incredibly impactful with elegant, beautiful writing that steadily builds to an inevitably horrific conclusion. The meandering pace, cyclical descriptions, and detached narrative language create an unsettling, powerful lasting image unlike anything I’ve ever read.
Absolutely deserving of every accolade and I highly recommend it. Please review the list of content warnings.

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lexihan's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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bookswithbethx's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense fast-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

5.0

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ecn's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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bookishbrenbren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

During the Nakba, colonizing? israeli? soldiers murder a family of Bedoins without cause and repeatedly rape the kidnapped daughter. Roughly 50 years later, a Palestinian woman becomes obsessed with the report of this crime.

I did think this book was well-written and compelling but to be honest, the second half of the book was so boring that it ruined the book for me. And the first half was so grotesque, both with violence and body horror, that I was looking for the second half to save it, so was let down doubly. While the book had moments that were compelling, especially the character development of the MC, and the portrait of modern life under israeli occupation, the vast majority of it was just a list of uneventful actions, e.g., "she got in the car, she walked into the museum, she looked at this thing, she looked at that thing," ad nauseam. Whatever the point of that particularly literary tool was, it was lost on me and I can say confidently, it was over-used.

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emilily's review

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is hard to review, and harder to read.

Utterly challenging, this book feels sluggish and repetitive at times, but shocking and jarring at others. This books is divided into two parellel stories of Israeli soldiers in 1949 who capture, assault, and kill a young girl, followed by the modern day story of a young woman who learns of the historic tragedy, and becomes obsessed with uncovering more about the murdered girl.

The prose is carefully considered, but uncomfortable to read. 'Minor details' are ever present -- the storytelling often gives much attention to little, mundane details, to the point of feeling irritating. I often wanted the author to get on with it, instead of spending such a long time on seemingly irrelevant details... but I think that was the point. The author seemed to want the reader to feel uncomfortable while reading these passages. It hits harder when you realise that exceptional care is taken to describe these minor details in the commander's life, while virtually no detail is provided about the captured girl. This creates space to reflect on the fact that 'history is told by the victors', while victims seldom have their stories recorded in the same detail.

The book is also filled with minor details drawing attention to the similarities and differences between the region in 1949 vs the present. Throughout the story of the modern day women, readers are provided insight into the current challenges of living as a Palestinian, while noting how little has changed since the troubles of 1949.

Minor Detail is not an easy read. It is horribly uncomfortable and challenging, yet there is no denying that it is impactful. I'll be thinking about this read for a long time.

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