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A review by dragongirl271
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“I'm looking forward at the road which cuts through the rippling hills, where the color of earth has changed from pale yellow to light brown. And she looks out to the right.”
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
You know those emotional, heart-wrenching short stories you used to have to read to analyze? The ones that linger with you years later? This is like that, but longer. There are many, many re-reads of this in my future. I'm not going to stop thinking about it anytime soon.
Minor Detail is the story of the rape and murder of a young Bedouin woman a year after the Nakba and another Palestinian woman's obsession with the story decades later. It's my understanding that the young woman's murder is actually a true story and Haaretz has an article about it published in October of last year. I also understand that Shibli was scheduled to win an award for this novel, but the ceremony in Frankfurt was canceled in the wake of the current genocide in Gaza. Incredibly unfair, as the writing in this book is phenomenal and worthy of as many awards as it can qualify for.
The book is in two parts. The first point tells the story of the murdered Bedouin woman from a distant, 3rd-person POV of the soldier overseeing the camp that captured her. The second, longer part follows the 1st-person POV of a woman in modern-day Ramallah who uncovers the story and wants to learn more of the details, refusing to let the woman fade into history.
Shibli utilizes symbolism expertly throughout the book, using all sorts of small details to tie the past and present to each other. Even the routine of the soldier and the travel of the researcher are shown through minor details. It's the kind of writing that gives you more and more each time you read.
3rd person POV in the first part. 1st person POV in the second part. Slow pacing. Heartbreaking. The kind of book that will stay with you for a long time.
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
You know those emotional, heart-wrenching short stories you used to have to read to analyze? The ones that linger with you years later? This is like that, but longer. There are many, many re-reads of this in my future. I'm not going to stop thinking about it anytime soon.
Minor Detail is the story of the rape and murder of a young Bedouin woman a year after the Nakba and another Palestinian woman's obsession with the story decades later. It's my understanding that the young woman's murder is actually a true story and Haaretz has an article about it published in October of last year. I also understand that Shibli was scheduled to win an award for this novel, but the ceremony in Frankfurt was canceled in the wake of the current genocide in Gaza. Incredibly unfair, as the writing in this book is phenomenal and worthy of as many awards as it can qualify for.
The book is in two parts. The first point tells the story of the murdered Bedouin woman from a distant, 3rd-person POV of the soldier overseeing the camp that captured her. The second, longer part follows the 1st-person POV of a woman in modern-day Ramallah who uncovers the story and wants to learn more of the details, refusing to let the woman fade into history.
Shibli utilizes symbolism expertly throughout the book, using all sorts of small details to tie the past and present to each other. Even the routine of the soldier and the travel of the researcher are shown through minor details. It's the kind of writing that gives you more and more each time you read.
3rd person POV in the first part. 1st person POV in the second part. Slow pacing. Heartbreaking. The kind of book that will stay with you for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Police brutality, Death, and Racism