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A review by musaho
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
5.0
This book was gut-wrenching, for multiple reasons. Still formulating my thoughts, and I will come back to it.
Alright, a week later. Thought's formulated enough, I think. This novella is divided into two parts, the first is a fictionalized retelling of a true event that took place in the Nagev desert in 1949, where settlers killed an entire Bedouin-Palestinian family save for one teenage girl who they tortured and r-worded before also killing her. The second part follows a woman in modern day Ramallah (well, based on context clues, I'm assuming it's set sometime in the early 2000s) who becomes obsessed with the story of the Bedouin girl. She travels throughout the land of Historic Palestine, looking for more clues and information.
It's still difficult to say what this story's purpose was, other than to just tell a story of occupation through little moments and descriptions, minor details if you will. The second half of it made me feel less like I was reading a story and more like I WAS the woman searching for answers. We both read the first story together, we both became curious about it, and we both went on a journey to look for what? I'm not sure, and neither was the MC. I felt so deeply connected to this book while I was reading it.
Incredibly enthralling, so heartbreaking. Such a necessary story as well.
Alright, a week later. Thought's formulated enough, I think. This novella is divided into two parts, the first is a fictionalized retelling of a true event that took place in the Nagev desert in 1949, where settlers killed an entire Bedouin-Palestinian family save for one teenage girl who they tortured and r-worded before also killing her. The second part follows a woman in modern day Ramallah (well, based on context clues, I'm assuming it's set sometime in the early 2000s) who becomes obsessed with the story of the Bedouin girl. She travels throughout the land of Historic Palestine, looking for more clues and information.
It's still difficult to say what this story's purpose was, other than to just tell a story of occupation through little moments and descriptions, minor details if you will. The second half of it made me feel less like I was reading a story and more like I WAS the woman searching for answers. We both read the first story together, we both became curious about it, and we both went on a journey to look for what? I'm not sure, and neither was the MC. I felt so deeply connected to this book while I was reading it.
Incredibly enthralling, so heartbreaking. Such a necessary story as well.