Reviews - Dotyk | The StoryGraph

108 reviews for:

Dotyk

Adania Shibli

3.83 AVERAGE

gar42's review against another edition

4.0

challenging mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is a book unlike anything I’ve read. Following the youngest sister of nine in a Palestinian family, the book unfolds in four sections each using a different sense as the mode of storytelling.

The young girl is an outsider in the family trying to make sense of her surroundings. Adania Shibli crafts prose that puts the reader in the girl’s shoes, also making do with what little information and perspective the girl has. Beautiful and mysterious, this is a book definitely worth a read—and a re-read.

moh's review against another edition

4.0

This was deeply moving in the way that abstract landscapes and instrumental music can be. Shibli's use of a young Palestinian child's point of view is extraordinary. That isn't a POV I usually like in books for adults. For example, I'm one of the few people who didn't like Room, though I've been a fan of Emma Donoghue's writing for a couple of decades. But this book is just gorgeous.

marcynewman's review against another edition

3.0

This novella is quite intriguing not so much for its content, but for its prose. Each chapter and section is kind of like a very small snapshot of a particular moment in space and time. But much of it is rather vague as to the specific context in which they take place. But the writing is quite poetic and moving, especially the section called "language" in which the protagonist goes to school and begins learning Arabic. The book is a lovely little experimental novella that is not entirely describable, so it is worth discovering for yourself.