A small batch of reviews;
- Minor Detail: Adania Shibli (trans. Elisabeth Jaquette)
This is a very slight book, but my goodness what a brilliant, strong, powerful one it is.
It is set in two parts; the first is from the perspective of an Israeli commander on patrol in the newly-acquired territories following the conflict in 1949 when up to 700,000 Palestinians were expulsed and displaced from their homes. Conditions are grim in the searing heat and the commander is ill from an insect bite. Then they come across a small number of Palestinians in hiding.
The story is taken up twenty-five years later by a young woman who has heard about a crime where a young woman had been raped and buried in the sand by members of that patrol and wishes to learn more about the 'minor detail' of this circumstance.
This is a haunting story about dispossession, violence and living under oppression and Shibli's measured prose cuts straight to the heart of the matter.
Recommended.
- My Friends : Hisham Matar.
This is another story about displaced people. This time it is about a young man from Libya who has taken the opportunity to study English in Edinburgh during the early 1980s. He is aware that even if he is living away from home, that there are watchful eyes tracking his every move and that he could be reported to the authorities.
One of his friends persuades him to join in with the demonstration outside the Libyan embassy in London protesting against Gaddafi's's regime when violence erupts and he gets shot. From then on, his life changes significantly. He becomes stuck in place and time, abandoning his studies, lying to his family, drifting on for many years until Libya becomes a free country. Then he becomes a free man.
I really liked this portrait of this young man and his friends; all their similarities and differences and what became of each of them as they dealt with the repercussions of that one day in their lives. I thought it was a very compelling read. Recommended.
- Martin Chuzzlewit: Charles Dickens.
This is way too long for a review, so I offer you a humble limerick instead.
'There was once a selfish young git,
By the name of Martin Chuzzlewit.
He went overseas,
Nearly died of disease,
But came back much less of a twit'.
And lots more things happened too in the book.
- C'est sans doute parce que je t'aime: Serena Giuliano.
This is a 'livre de poche' that I picked up last summer on holidays in France.
Two young couples go on holiday to an Italian island, unfortunately packing all their jealousies and insecurities along in their luggage, which cast a blight on 'la dolce vita'. The front cover is lovely, though. It depicts a gaily-painted Italian town. Nice book cover. Annoying characters.
Edit: spelled Gaddafi wrong.