A review by savvylit
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

Minor Detail is a short and intense novel in two parts. Part one features a third person perspective of 'an Israeli commander in August 1949, one year after the Nakba. The cruelty of this portion, the utterly inhumane and horrible attitudes held by the soldiers... It's damning and sickening.

Part two features a first person perspective twenty five years into the future, focused on a Palestinian woman. After connecting closely with a news article, she embarks on a dangerous journey across occupied territory to discover the truth behind a brutal story. The way that Shibli has woven terror into this woman's daily life under occupation is heartbreaking and unsettling. She's adjusted to the sounds of bombings, to being confined to a settlement, to constantly encountering callous and violent Israeli soldiers. And the conclusion of her story? Absolutely brutal.

As a whole, I think that Minor Detail is a very powerful read that offers an enlightening glimpse into the common cruelties of life in occupied Palestine, prior to the current genocide.
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