International Authors' Stage: Adania Shibli (PS)
Palestinian author Adania Shibli returns to International Author's Stage to talk about her award-winning and hard-hitting novel Minor Detail.
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A voice for those who were not heard
Shibli's novel was published in 2017 and received a brilliant reception. It has since been translated into a number of other languages and was published in Danish in 2024.
The story begins in 1949. Shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel, in the shadow of the war the previous year, Israeli security forces operate in the Negev desert. Here they have one goal: to secure the area by removing any Arabs who may have remained. During their operation, they encounter a Bedouin family. Among them is a teenage girl, whom they subject to a brutal crime – she is raped, killed and buried in the desert sand. A new country has taken shape – a wound has opened. In Ramallah many years later, a young woman discovers a short note in the newspaper about this incident. Something about the story touches her deeply, not least because it took place exactly 25 years before her own birthday. Her fascination becomes an obsession, and she decides to uncover what really happened. Her search takes her on a perilous journey that requires both courage and willpower.
The reviewers wrote
“Adania Shibli succeeds in portraying the inhumane daily conditions of a contemporary Palestinian, so that it is felt deep into the bones.” – Bjørn Bredal in Politiken.
"Minor detail is a terrifying novel, composed with a hard-hitting plot and enough to make me feel quite dizzy. I actually did when I turned the last page, and Shibli can do that, that is, transpose the horror she depicts in black and white into a body." - Bodil Skovgaard Nielsen in Information.
The present is haunted by the past
The novel, which on the surface is simple and short, is filled with layers of meaning. It falls into two parts: the first part, set in the past in 1949 during the occupation of Palestine, and the second part in the present. With this composition, the novel manages to intertwine two timelines, thus illustrating how the present is always haunted by the past.
Making it her mission to be a voice for those who are never heard, Shibli explores loss, identity, and life under occupation with a precision that makes every sentence weighty. The many things that remain unsaid create an intense sense of discomfort and reflection in the reader.
International recognition and controversy
Minor Detail was shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and won Germany's prestigious LiBeraturpreis in 2023. However, the prize was not awarded as planned following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent military offensive on Gaza. This decision sparked a wave of international criticism.
Participants
Adania Shibli
Adania Shibli is a writer and literary figure. She lives and works in Berlin and Jerusalem. Adania Shibli is considered one of the most original and important living writers in Arabic-language literature. Her work is broad and, in addition to writing novels, she has also written plays, short stories and essays.
Minor Detail was nominated for both The National Book Awards and The International Booker Prize and was named Times Book of the Year.
International Authors' Stage
