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A review by nashwa017
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
5.0
A truly harrowing book, divided into two sections - the first of which is set in Palestine one year after the Nakba in 1949. In this section, we find ourselves in the head of an Israeli military leader, whose sole aim is to find Arabs in the desert and kill them. In this scenario, a young Palestinian girl falls prey to Israeli soldiers and meets a tragic fate. In the second section of the book, we are in the head of a young Palestinian woman, 25 years after the event takes place. In both these scenarios, the reader is with the unnamed characters and goes through the events with them. It is an uncomfortable place to be, as we are forced to face the horrifying calamities of war, ethnic cleaning and living under occupation.
The author showcases the anxiety of the second narrator really well, and the reader really fells suffocated in her skin. Living under constant scrutiny, one fears for the narrator as she is not able to move freely, and constant finds herself in places where she's not supposed to be.
Despite the sparse writing style, the imagery is very vivid and the author uses simple devices (the barking dogs, the smell of gasoline) to tie the two chapters together. Not only does that make the book more interconnected, but the simple details really make one think how similar the two scenarios are.
The author showcases the anxiety of the second narrator really well, and the reader really fells suffocated in her skin. Living under constant scrutiny, one fears for the narrator as she is not able to move freely, and constant finds herself in places where she's not supposed to be.
Despite the sparse writing style, the imagery is very vivid and the author uses simple devices (the barking dogs, the smell of gasoline) to tie the two chapters together. Not only does that make the book more interconnected, but the simple details really make one think how similar the two scenarios are.