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A review by samahcanread__
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
the book came to my attention after the annoucement that Frankfurt book fair has canceled the prize ceremony following the attacks on gaza, simply because the author was palestinian. I was furious; imagine your whole identity and existence is debated worthy or not of dignity and life.
The publisher had the book free to download on amazon, kobo and apple books, and it's part of the #readingisresistance redathon that is starting on Oct 22nd and ending on Nov 4th.
The story is devided into two parts. First part takes place in 1949, one year after the Nakba, an event that saw the displacement of more than 300,000 palestinians from their land, israeli soldiers are setting up camp and securing land for the first colonisers. A young woman is taken by the soldiers, raped and then buried in a ditch. Second part follows our protagonist, a young palestinian woman from Ramallah, who found this story and can't seem to shake this "minor detail" from her head.
It is a devastating look into one of the darkest times in the history of middle east, that is still happening today (5000+ palestinians in gaza are killed since the Oct 7th, 26 hospitals are destroyed, 2 churches, and more than 1.1 millions are forced to leave their homes from Northen Gaza to the south borders with Egypt).
However, for the impact of the story and the nuance to settle in the reader's mind, it needs more historical context to undestand why the protagonist had to take many length to travel from one point to another. To the average reader who just come to the realisation that israel is a colonising state built on stolen land, or to the reader that doesn't have historical context of the Nakba and the constant oppression of palestinians, it wouldn't make a greater impact compared, let's say, to someone like me, who grew up chanting "free palestine"
The publisher had the book free to download on amazon, kobo and apple books, and it's part of the #readingisresistance redathon that is starting on Oct 22nd and ending on Nov 4th.
The story is devided into two parts. First part takes place in 1949, one year after the Nakba, an event that saw the displacement of more than 300,000 palestinians from their land, israeli soldiers are setting up camp and securing land for the first colonisers. A young woman is taken by the soldiers, raped and then buried in a ditch. Second part follows our protagonist, a young palestinian woman from Ramallah, who found this story and can't seem to shake this "minor detail" from her head.
It is a devastating look into one of the darkest times in the history of middle east, that is still happening today (5000+ palestinians in gaza are killed since the Oct 7th, 26 hospitals are destroyed, 2 churches, and more than 1.1 millions are forced to leave their homes from Northen Gaza to the south borders with Egypt).
However, for the impact of the story and the nuance to settle in the reader's mind, it needs more historical context to undestand why the protagonist had to take many length to travel from one point to another. To the average reader who just come to the realisation that israel is a colonising state built on stolen land, or to the reader that doesn't have historical context of the Nakba and the constant oppression of palestinians, it wouldn't make a greater impact compared, let's say, to someone like me, who grew up chanting "free palestine"