Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

179 reviews

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

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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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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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rebeccadiv's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
There's no way I can rate this. Read content warnings before pick this up.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
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extracelestial's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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

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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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robinks's review against another edition

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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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goodthingsread's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Excellent writing, harsh and brutal. I found the first half to be a bit too "literary." The soldier has an infection; he is sick physically and morally, yes. I also found the ending, while impactful, a little off. I can't think of any other result, but the small detail that gets us there feels silly in context.
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aprettybookshelf's review against another edition

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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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linaherondale's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

 It's only 100 pages but it's a punch in the guts. It's a book I would recommend to everyone. Adania Shibli, a palestinian writer, recounts the story of a young Bedouin palestinian girl who was gang r*ped and killed by iof soldiers in 1949, a year after the Nakba. Decades later, a young woman living in Ramallah decides to look into this "minor detail" of history and crosses the borders of occupation to go after the truth. 
I've rarely read books with such skillful writing. Through a spiralling narration that felt almost out of breathe, the author encapsulates the anxiety and terror of living under occupation and the alienation of a people dispossed of their land as well as the dehumanization of the colonial project. Mostly, despite taking place decades ago, this story read as  awfully relevant to the horrors happening in Palestine right now. It's  a testimony of how the past haunts the present. 
This is a must-read!! 
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