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"Besides, sometimes it's inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific."

Minor Detail is a small book broken up in two parts. In part I, we see the (true) story of a young Bedouin girl in 1950s Palestine being taken and raped, then murdered by Israeli soldiers. In part II, we follow a Palestinian journalist from Ramallah as she tries to learn more about this woman’s story.

Part I
The first part of this book is written in a detached third person voice. It seems like it from the journal entries of the Israeli soldier who found and abused the Bedouin girl. The horrific story of this girl isn't even on this guy's priority list and the disconnected tone makes it all the more haunting as you see how this terrible act is nothing but a minor detail in the lives of these soldiers. I found this first part a little disjointed and very hard to get through, but that was the point. This part is sickening and it’s even more sickening that it was real.

Part II
The second part of the book is written in the more personal first person, as we follow a young journalist who grows obsessed with this Bedouin girl's story solely because it happened 25 years before the day she was born. This story hits just as hard as we follow her in present day Palestine and observe all of the obstacles and dangers she faces when she is just trying to get a bit more information on something. We follow our main character as she goes from Ramallah to Tel Aviv and the many struggles she faces before she herself becomes a minor detail.

This book does exactly what it sets out to do perfectly. It is an exemplary example of how reading and writing is resistance. This book can also be read in about a day and I would implore everyone to give it a go. It's a hard read, but it is so important. Despite it's size, this is a book that will stick with me for a long time.

I would highly recommend to anyone based on the contents alone, but the fact that the author has been censured and unable to receive her reward at the Frankfurt Book Fair because of what is going on in Palestine makes it an incredibly important read right now.