Week 44: Minor Detail

Adania Shibli's groundbreaking novel is divided into two parts. The first half is narrated in the third person from the perspective of an Israeli soldier, and is set in the summer of 1949 in the Negev desert. The second half takes place in the present day, and is narrated in the first person from the perspective of a Palestinian woman living in Ramallah. The novel draws a chilling parallel between past and present, showing that the violence of 1949 is not just a “minor detail” of history—it continues to define Palestinian existence even today.

 

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Adania Shibli at the 2024 Hay Festival:

https://www.hayfestival.com/p-21834-hisham-matar-elif-shafak-and-adania-shibli-talk-to-philippe-sands.aspx

https://www.hayfestival.com/p-21761-adania-shibli-talks-to-hisham-matar.aspx 

Book mentioned:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver