Reviews with content warning for Torture - Minor Detail

“By the way, I hope I didn’t cause any awkwardness when I mentioned the incident with the soldier, or the checkpoint, or when I reveal that we are living under occupation here. Gunshots and military vehicle sirens, and sometimes the sound of helicopters, warplanes, and shelling, the subsequent wail of ambulances; not only do these noises precede breaking news reports, but now they have to compete with the dog’s barking, too.”

Haunting and clear, the repetition in certain scenes would put me into a meditative trance until the next development shocked me out of it. Incredible and devastating.

Content Warnings

carlytenille's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No

4.0

Content Warnings

reginasbread's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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.

Content Warnings

awaywiththefairies's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Haunting. The writing and topic is striking and stark. Cuts right to your heart.

Content Warnings

yourbookishbff's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

Content Warnings

jiayuanc's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

Extremely stilted and repetitive language, which I understand was done on purpose. I wonder if this was an issue of translation. Forced repetitive symbolism to connect the events of part 1 of 1949 to part 2 some 25 years later (dog barking, gasoline, specific plant mention... It was very unnatural and felt very forced). Overall an interesting read but not what I would call a must read. It is short enough to be read through in a day so may as well have a read through as it does cover a true event in part 1. The ending was very predictable, but there was no other way for this story to end.

Disappointed as I had much higher hopes for this. Rounded up to 3 stars for GoodReads.

From the river to the sea...

Content Warnings

beccajreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense slow-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? N/A

4.0

Content Warnings

More...