Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Minor Detail

Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

77 reviews

emeliajane97's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

saylaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A

4.5

Hard but important to read. While reading both parts have been filled with some sense of dread - either for the inevitable thing to happen (first part), or what could happen to the protagonist of the second part and whether they can return to their home, while still experiencing minor situations (one might say details) that mirror the girl who got killed at the end of the first part.
From a writing perspective - I liked the two completely different narrative voices: the 3rd person view of the IDF soldier (confident, without much emotions/and any remorse @ his actions), and the 1st person view of an Palestinian woman from the west bank having to been grown up and live under those conditions - her constant anxiety and neuroticism (stemming from the trauma of being occupied, oppressed, bombed, and not allowed to move freely)

(Might come back to continue to review this after i have sorted my thoughts - also trying to start and get better at reviewing)

Content Warnings

brynalexa's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The first part was extremely emotional to read. It’s very hard to put yourself into a camp of bigoted colonizers for 50 pages. The second part was two parts lovely and one part dread. It came together in the end. Very moving.

Content Warnings

maddiereadswords's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

melsage1823's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Disclaimer: I am not Palestinian please check out own voices reviews to get a qualified in depth opinion on the book.

An incredibly heartbreaking story that shows that reality in living under occupation and colonlism.

This story as good as it was is probably one I'll never be able to pick up again due to how powerful and raw it was. Despite being short and a fictional story Minor Detail was able to perfectly help understand the brutal reality and truths of the Israeli occupation and how much culture and cities have been lost thanks to it. There were certain points I struggled to keep the book open due to how powerful Shibi described the emotions of the woman wanting to discover the little girls story.

I also found it very clever that the two half's of the story were opposite. We got to follow the mind of the oppressor and then near present day the oppressed. In a clever duality way through this genius writing we got to see the damage of the oppressors mindset. This novel cleverly through the contrasting povs allows us to not only understand the mindset drilled into Israeli soldiers but also how colonisation develops over time. Its also impressive how Shibli manages to do all this in such a short amount of pages.

It was brilliant and I do not regret despite its heavy topics picking it up.

There's so much I liked about the novel but before I get onto the positives I will have to get into the one negative that knocked half a star off for me.

This book was really impressive with how much it managed to do in such a short amount of pages but I really wish that it was at least 50 pages or 100 pages longer. I don't mean it out of any disrespect but I wish we had got to know the two pov characters we followed better and that instead of rushing straight into the soldiers pov, we actually got a prologue fron the woman we follow for the second half of the story. It would have made an already great novel even better in my opinion. Also as inventive as the format of the novel was it just wasn't for me. As a Neurodivergent reader it would have been easier to absorb if the part 1, part 2 split was still kept but it also had chapters as well. This book is such an important read that it feels a bit disappointing that it might put off Neurodivergent folk who struggle with reading.

That though is my only criticism, I definitely find this novel an essential read so much that despite it being a fiction story it educates you a lot and clears up what you think you might know about the Israeli occupation. There's so many thinks I wish I could highlight but these are just a few.

I've mentioned in before but I loved the way the two contrasting povs were done. When I first realised we were following the pov of a soldier I groaned and rolled my eyes because I was worried he'd be painted in a sympathetic light but he wasn't. The Soldier is completely unlikeable and irredeemable which gets to show you how brutal Israeli soldiers are in real life. He suffers, causes suffering but you don't feel an once of sympathy for him. You don't route for any of his men either. It's clever in a way that we see the reasons for what the soldiers done especially during the really brutal bits. It also helps us route for the character we follow during the second half of the book who is trying to discover what happened and tell the girls story.

Another thing is the fact that the story isn't sugar coated. Too often media likes to censor or soften the impact of war and colonlism but Minor Detail doesn't shy from the brutalities of the occupation from naming the cities before they were occupied and showing how restricted Palestinians are. All the occupation has gotten even worse you can see how long this issue has gone on and that it was still bad during the time this novel was published. The novel doesn't shy away from it and is a perfect feminist piece showing how each generation of women + girls have had to survive under Israeli control. It shows how women + girls are used and abused as weapons of war. This book will leave you reflective and reeling over the women of Palestinian have had to go through. If you want to be an intersectional feminist this is definitely the book to be picking up.

Finally the language. As a writer myself I love when bold and vivid language is used and given the focus of the novel, Minor Detail uses language really well. Shibli brings war to life in a really morbidly beautiful way that makes your eyes glued to the page. The powerful adjectives and words make you really reflective about the situation in Palestinian and how morally corrupt it is. The language due to how unique and fresh it feels really helps immerse you and show what an occupated Palestinian looks like in the past as well as modern day. A lot of contrasting and distinct language is used to differentiate from both the soldier and journalists povs which I find really clever.

Overall its a really heartbreaking but important read that is essential in helping under what the women of Palestinian have had to face and what its like living under occupation. It's a very interesting fiction book that was made to help people understand the true reality of whats going on.
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

Content Warnings

robinks's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

goodthingsread's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings