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Roman Clodia's Reviews > Minor Detail
Minor Detail
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Longlisted for the International Booker 2021
Masterfully constructed through a careful narrative built on hypnotic repetition and devastating echoes, this is haunting indeed and has a disproportionate impact in relation to the scant number of pages. In fact, I'd say that the one-sitting read will draw attention to the pulsing beat of reiterations which give both a formal and emotional architecture to the book.
What start out as 'internal' recurrences in the first half (the officer washing, the dressing of his infected wound, the howling of the dog) expand to become the intratexts that link the 'incident' with its recovery in the second half, a recuperation of a past happening that travels forward to become a partial reoccurrence in the present. Shivering, the scent of petrol that refuses to be washed away, soap suds on a body, even a landscape comprising thorn acacia and terebinth trees all provide ominous connections, as does the 'mirage' that opens and closes the text. The steady hammer blows of a constantly seen sign proclaiming 'Man, not the tank, shall prevail' thread ironically through both parts, leading to an end that layers one woman against another.
Understated and yet immensely, invisibly, artful.
... what drew me to the incident, what made it begin haunting me, was the presence of a detail that is really quite minor when compared to the incident's major details, which can only be described as tragic.
Masterfully constructed through a careful narrative built on hypnotic repetition and devastating echoes, this is haunting indeed and has a disproportionate impact in relation to the scant number of pages. In fact, I'd say that the one-sitting read will draw attention to the pulsing beat of reiterations which give both a formal and emotional architecture to the book.
What start out as 'internal' recurrences in the first half (the officer washing, the dressing of his infected wound, the howling of the dog) expand to become the intratexts that link the 'incident' with its recovery in the second half, a recuperation of a past happening that travels forward to become a partial reoccurrence in the present. Shivering, the scent of petrol that refuses to be washed away, soap suds on a body, even a landscape comprising thorn acacia and terebinth trees all provide ominous connections, as does the 'mirage' that opens and closes the text. The steady hammer blows of a constantly seen sign proclaiming 'Man, not the tank, shall prevail' thread ironically through both parts, leading to an end that layers one woman against another.
Understated and yet immensely, invisibly, artful.
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Reading Progress
March 31, 2021
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Started Reading
March 31, 2021
– Shelved
March 31, 2021
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Finished Reading
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Jola
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 31, 2021 11:20PM
Dear RC, the last word encapsulates my impressions after reading your beautiful review: artful. I simply loved it, from the first word to the last. Besides, I found it motivating: Shibli's novel has been on my TBR list for a while and now you have just convinced me that it shouldn't wait long. Judging from your beautiful review, I guess it's one of the strongest International Booker 2021 candidates.
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I agree it should be read in 1 sitting. i managed in two but it still worked well.
Hello Jola! Yes, it's a very short book but deep and so cleverly written - I think it's the sort of thing that you would appreciate with your sensitivity to writing. It didn't quite tip over into 5-stars for me but yes, one of those visceral books that seeps into the reader's consciousness.
The shortest review of your splendid review: I've just started reading Minor Detail. 🙂
So looking forward to reading what you think of it :)
