Titles, violence, & wow that ending | discussing Minor Detail
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2021
- The #WITReadathon group book for 2021 was Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette), so Matthew, Kendra, and I came together to discuss our final thoughts. We'd love to hear your reactions to this title as well.
Summary: Minor Detail begins during the summer of 1949. While on a desert raid, Israeli soldiers capture a Bedouin teenager, rape her, kill her, and bury her in the sand. In the near-present day, a young woman in Ramallah tries to uncover some of the details surrounding this particular crime, and becomes fascinated to the point of obsession, not only because of the nature of the crime, but also because it was committed exactly twenty-five years to the day she was born.
Kendra’s Channel: / @kendrawinchester
Matthew’s Channel: / @matthewsciarappa
Reading Women episode on Reading Palestine: www.readingwomenpodcast.com/b...
Minor Detail:
-US: bookshop.org/a/11533/97808112...
-UK: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
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This is not a sponsored video, and unless otherwise stated, I bought these books myself. - Розваги
Totally agree with Jennifer about the similarity with JM Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians.
In both parts the women are in a powerless position in relation to the colonists in power and I was really impressed with how that came through in the second part. You could imagine similar situations in many countries and perhaps even the First Nations perspective in North America and Australia.
I got this on kindle and read it before watching the video and was completely caught by the ending too, I knew as soon as it finished I would be thinking about it for a while. It made me want to learn more about modern-day Palestinian life. I was a history student so I found your discussion of the privilege of being able to read your own history very interesting, and not something I had really thought about much before.
Thank you for this discussion. I found the first part so tedious but it is only when you get through the second half that you realise why it was that way. I plan to re read, as I now know how the second half pans out it will probably be a different experience.
I really enjoyed it for the craft as well, and I thought it did really interesting things stylistically juxtaposing the two sections.
I had mixed feelings when I read it.I gave it 4 stars because it is important. But the day after I kept thinking about it. And a week later I was still thinking about it. So I changed the 4 to 5 stars. And now when you started talking about it I almost started to cry. I want to give it 6 stars now
It's definitely one of those books that only gets more interesting the more you think about it, especially if you have the chance to chat about it with someone else!
Did I watch this video before having read the book? Yes. Did I also download it immediately after, read it in one sitting and then come back to rewatch this live? Also yes.
Always love chatting books with you both! ❤️
The ending is the real tipping point for me that I'm still ruminating on. I really respected what the book was doing, but I can't decide if the ending cheapened it for me or if it is the only inevitable ending that would have made sense? I read it over a month ago and I'm still thinking about it so there is that.
Same holds true for me (and many other people it seems)--there are certain books I enjoyed/liked more during WIT month this year, but this may be the title that's been most occupying my thoughts in the weeks since. Not that that totally supersedes the reading experience, but it is a separate and interesting quality for a book to have
I think we are V cute and fun!
This is the kind of unbiased commentary I come to this channel for thank you
Just finished this book . Such a contrast between the two parts ...I thought the violence had more impact as the officer was loosing control owing to his fever , but had no insight into how his increasing moral indifference and detachment would lead to the incident . The writing was so cold and yet he was burning up !
I am going to try and read this book 📖 then watch your video
Great, I hope you enjoy the book and would love to hear your thoughts afterwards
@@InsertLiteraryPunHere no worries will do that for you
I think I can draw observations from the book, but not conclusions. When I read the book I initially thought that the second part would answer some of the issues raised in the first, which it doesn't. But I do think there are parts which mirror each other - the obsessive behaviour of both the army officer and Palestinian woman, both trying and failing to do the right thing as they see it and the Bedouin girl and the Palestinian woman, two women frightened with limited understanding of why they are shot. The ending felt abrupt, but maybe it represents what the current situation is. Overall I think I enjoyed it, and the story has stayed with me.
Really like your distinction between observations and conclusions, especially for this particular book
I read it in English and didn’t like it-read it in Arabic thinking that it was a poor translation. Still it was a poor read- it just exploited a very important topic. Almost cheapened it. I do not recommend.
Hey