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A review by opheliasviolence
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
“Besides, sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific”
*Note: This review is a mess. The subject matter hurts to even think about.
This book is split into two chapters. The first describes what happened on August 12 1949. The second chapter follows a woman who becomes interested in the “minor detail” of the incident that happened 25 years before her birthday. She decides to try to find more information about the girl in the article.
I’d suggest reading the book before reading any reviews.
This was a difficult read. It’s a very short but it has a great impact. The description
tells the reader exactly what’s going to happen. The reader is “prepared.” It’s no less devastating when we read about the real life incident that happened on August 12 1949. The first chapter is cold and almost clinical as it describes what happened without going into gratuitous detail. The subject matter is still disturbing without having to be extremely graphic. That said, there is SA in the first part that is disturbing to read even if it’s not descriptive.
The second part is just as difficult to read as we follow a woman trying to investigate what happened to the unnamed Palestinian woman in the first part. I won’t go into detail about this part because this is so short. I’ll just say that seeing the narrator navigate with the two maps, going to places she used to know was very sad. “...the present is no less horrific.”
*After reading this, I realized that the article and the horrific events it described were real. The article is available online but I don’t know if I’d recommend reading it. It contains a report made by the officer/captain. His words chilled me. What happened made me angry and incredibly sad. Real life horrors are always worse than fictional ones. I know this will stay with me.
*Note: This review is a mess. The subject matter hurts to even think about.
This book is split into two chapters. The first describes what happened on August 12 1949. The second chapter follows a woman who becomes interested in the “minor detail” of the incident that happened 25 years before her birthday. She decides to try to find more information about the girl in the article.
I’d suggest reading the book before reading any reviews.
This was a difficult read. It’s a very short but it has a great impact. The description
tells the reader exactly what’s going to happen. The reader is “prepared.” It’s no less devastating when we read about the real life incident that happened on August 12 1949. The first chapter is cold and almost clinical as it describes what happened without going into gratuitous detail. The subject matter is still disturbing without having to be extremely graphic. That said, there is SA in the first part that is disturbing to read even if it’s not descriptive.
The second part is just as difficult to read as we follow a woman trying to investigate what happened to the unnamed Palestinian woman in the first part. I won’t go into detail about this part because this is so short. I’ll just say that seeing the narrator navigate with the two maps, going to places she used to know was very sad. “...the present is no less horrific.”
*After reading this, I realized that the article and the horrific events it described were real. The article is available online but I don’t know if I’d recommend reading it. It contains a report made by the officer/captain. His words chilled me. What happened made me angry and incredibly sad. Real life horrors are always worse than fictional ones. I know this will stay with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence