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A review by aforestofbooks
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I don't know how to review this book. It felt like a fever dream.
My brain is never quiet, there are always thoughts and images. The way this story is told felt very similar. The narrative and inner dialogue of the characters felt like a stream of consciousness, every detail, whether minor or major was included, and every detail was important to the story.
The first half of the book focuses on a platoon commander's POV in the summer of 1949. It's disturbing and dark and difficult to read at times. The second half is from the POV of a young Palestinian woman who is obsessed with how the rape and murder of a young Palestinian girl in 1949 coincides with her birthday many years later. Interestingly enough, there are many similarities between the two POVs. I can't help noticing the obsessive wanderings the commander would go on and how closely it mimics the final few pages of the Palestinian woman's POV as she wanders through the Negev Desert. Dogs barking. The smell of gasoline. And the camels. And the similar outcomes we see in both POVs. I can see why this book has been nominated for so many awards. It is a literary masterpiece. A short, but haunting read that will stay with you forever.
<blockquote>"Sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific.”</blockquote>
My brain is never quiet, there are always thoughts and images. The way this story is told felt very similar. The narrative and inner dialogue of the characters felt like a stream of consciousness, every detail, whether minor or major was included, and every detail was important to the story.
The first half of the book focuses on a platoon commander's POV in the summer of 1949. It's disturbing and dark and difficult to read at times. The second half is from the POV of a young Palestinian woman who is obsessed with how the rape and murder of a young Palestinian girl in 1949 coincides with her birthday many years later. Interestingly enough, there are many similarities between the two POVs. I can't help noticing the obsessive wanderings the commander would go on and how closely it mimics the final few pages of the Palestinian woman's POV as she wanders through the Negev Desert. Dogs barking. The smell of gasoline. And the camels. And the similar outcomes we see in both POVs. I can see why this book has been nominated for so many awards. It is a literary masterpiece. A short, but haunting read that will stay with you forever.
<blockquote>"Sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific.”</blockquote>