A review by booksjessreads
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, عدنية شبلي

challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is a completely harrowing book about the Israeli occupation of Palestine from 1949, told from two perspectives - in third person from an Israeli solder, and in first person from a Palestinian woman. The first half details the events of a Palestinian girl being captured by the Israeli army, and the second, of a Palestinian woman discovering the events half a century later.

The prose in this book is completely unforgiving and written with complete apathy. It's basic description of everything really compliments the stories and is cleverly done to elicit strong emotions from the reader. Having unemotional prose in the first story reflected the cold-heartedness of the Israeli soldier who is leading a search party to murder any encountered Palestinian civilians. For the second story, the lack of emotion really emphasised the events unfolding around the main character. Additionally, I think this is where the translation from Arabic is incredible. There isn't one area in this book where the writing is disjointed or doesn't make sense. It flows so well, is completely atmospheric and definitely one the best translated fiction books I have ever read. 

This is a completely chilling read that will absolutely stick with you. It is very telling of both Palestine's past, but also their present. Perhaps my favourite quote of the book was:
 Besides, sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific. 
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