Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

Author’s note: Please check trigger warnings before delving into the book. For more details, you can check the book’s StoryGraph page here!

I read this book in order to further understand the situation in Palestine (I’m only using these words to reach people) and to understand what it was like to be Palestinian living in…Israel.

This book is split into two parts: the first part is in third person, and follows a cold and calculated soldier of what seems to be the IDF. He is cold, the voice and language is repetitive and very distanced and detached. There is a significant repetitiveness to his actions - he uses a cloth to wipe off the sweat, uses a small can with water, goes to sleep and then repeat. This is where the trigger warning comes in - while it’s not very detailed, it’s still graphic so once more, I implore you greatly to not read this if you are triggered easily by the themes explored. However, if you’d like to chat with me about the book, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram!

The second part follows an unnamed character, this part is in first person and you feel the humanity of the narrator. She feels human and is a very stark contrast to the soldier in the first part. She stumbles upon the crime committed in the first half and nearly spirals. But I think that I’m not too concerned about the crime itself - it’s not only what the crime represents that’s important, it’s the journey she goes on and how she describes her surroundings, her feelings and how the story progresses.

This story is set after 1948 - in the history of Palestine and the history of every Palestinian person, this is known as the Nakba, when over 75,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes, thousands died and Jewish refugees came to their homes and took over. The year specifically is 1949, tension is still high and even if it’s set in 1949, it could easily have been set in 2023 because barely anything, in terms of the restrictions, has changed. The narrator takes us through places where villages and towns were supposed to be but were either replaced by Jewish refugees and/or settlers or were just wiped off the map completely. There are several instances where the narrator refers to the map of Israel and a map of Palestine before 1948 and it was harrowing to read. There is a huge difference in the maps and the narrator explains how she has friends from the villages/towns in the vicinity of her location as she goes to understand the crime and they’re just…gone. Wiped off the map.

Another thing that had my heart in my throat is the description of checkpoints. For those that are unaware, Palestinians, whether you’re born in the “heartland”, the West Bank, Gaza or even outside of Palestine are constantly subject to checkpoints when moving around the country. They are also often humiliated and seemingly if they breathe wrong, the soldiers at the checkpoint have the right to detain you. It’s awful, it’s scary to read about and by gods, I imagine it’s the scariest thing you can experience besides potentially having a gun down your throat. For reference, an American that has no connection to Israel has the ability to freely move around the country, can easily go to Israel and will probably be treated with respect and dignity but a Palestinian whose family has been on the land for generations, whose house has withstood the test of hard times cannot go back to Palestine because not only is it dangerous for them but it could essentially be a death sentence. Palestinians could not visit their homeland the way that most people can say they can. They cannot visit their ancestral lands but a random American with no ties to the land could easily purchase a ticket, come visit, get citizenship and even take over a home they like with no repercussions from anyone and kick the home-owners out. This isn’t limited to Americans with no connection but Jewish people who have never stepped foot in the country and those that have and lest the Palestinians fight back, they are punished not only by the soldiers around them but also by Western media.

So, in conclusion, this is a really good book that is short but still gives you the daily struggle of Palestinians living in Palestine. Please, once again, check trigger warnings and please take care of yourselves as you’re reading. It’s a shame that the Frankfurt Book Festival cancelled the award ceremony - showing that they are complicit in the dehumanisation and demonising Palestinians in nearly every way possible.

From the River to the Sea.