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A review by carbs666
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Ok I'm not giving this book a starred rating and I will explain.
This book is doing something totally masterful at the craft level. We talk often about novels being either windows or mirrors, and this one is a window open wide to an expansive view that is completely foreign to me. At first the book might feel boring, but after a few pages pass you realize that the author is using monotony to build tension, and she's doing so very effectively. The book is all impressions, anything momentous that happens isn't described in any detail, while the rote, unimportant things are contemplated and documented at length, giving readers and unsettling feeling of not being able to identify what's "important." The change in tone between the first and second halves is so drastic, taking you from a perspective that's somewhat removed, where emotional responses and inner workings of characters are only vaguely hinted at, to a very intimately centered and driven first-person POV. Recurring motifs - dust, dogs barking, the sound of gunfire, cars, the body's physical responses to emotions, heat, colours associated with different landscape features - and the persistent focus on minor details give the book an overall air of unease and inevitability, like whatever happens in this book was always bound to happen, no matter what other choices the characters may have made.
All that said, while I recognize the significance and skill of the writing, translation, and topics of the book, I did not like it. It goes without saying that the subject matter is unpleasant, but that's not what I don't like about it - the style isn't one that resonates with me as a reader. It somewhat gave me the feeling I would get when reading a book assigned to me in class, where I can understand why we're reading the book and all the important things the book is doing, but it's not a book I would choose to read in my free time. However, it's good to challenge yourself to read differently than you normally would, and I will be thinking about this book for a very long time to come.
This book is doing something totally masterful at the craft level. We talk often about novels being either windows or mirrors, and this one is a window open wide to an expansive view that is completely foreign to me. At first the book might feel boring, but after a few pages pass you realize that the author is using monotony to build tension, and she's doing so very effectively. The book is all impressions, anything momentous that happens isn't described in any detail, while the rote, unimportant things are contemplated and documented at length, giving readers and unsettling feeling of not being able to identify what's "important." The change in tone between the first and second halves is so drastic, taking you from a perspective that's somewhat removed, where emotional responses and inner workings of characters are only vaguely hinted at, to a very intimately centered and driven first-person POV. Recurring motifs - dust, dogs barking, the sound of gunfire, cars, the body's physical responses to emotions, heat, colours associated with different landscape features - and the persistent focus on minor details give the book an overall air of unease and inevitability, like whatever happens in this book was always bound to happen, no matter what other choices the characters may have made.
All that said, while I recognize the significance and skill of the writing, translation, and topics of the book, I did not like it. It goes without saying that the subject matter is unpleasant, but that's not what I don't like about it - the style isn't one that resonates with me as a reader. It somewhat gave me the feeling I would get when reading a book assigned to me in class, where I can understand why we're reading the book and all the important things the book is doing, but it's not a book I would choose to read in my free time. However, it's good to challenge yourself to read differently than you normally would, and I will be thinking about this book for a very long time to come.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Murder, and War