Minor Detail by Adania Shibli is a haunting exploration of violence, memory, and historical erasure. Set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the novel unfolds in two interwoven narratives. The first, stark and restrained, recounts the brutal rape and murder of a Palestinian girl by Israeli soldiers in 1949. The second, set decades later, follows a contemporary Palestinian woman as she obsessively investigates this overlooked atrocity.
Themes of colonialism, trauma, and the marginalisation of victims resonate deeply, highlighting how personal and collective memories intersect.
Event Details
When: Fri, 21 February – 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Where: ACE Parramatta, 8 Victoria Rd
This is a free event, but registrations are essential! Book your tickets today via the link below.
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattahwill facilitate the conversation about Adania Shibli’s novel Minor Detail.
Randa Abdel-Fattah is the author of twelve books of fiction for young people (across YA, middle grade and a picture book) and her work has been published in over twenty countries with multiple translations. Her debut novel, Does My Head Look Big In This?, was the first young adult novel ever written by a Muslim about a Western Muslim protagonist to be published in the world.
Randa’s novel When Michael Met Mina, received international critical acclaim, was published in the US and UK (renamed The Lines We Cross) and translated into Italian, Swedish, German and Polish. It won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction 2016 and People’s Choice Award 2016 and was selected as the No.1 recommended book on refugees by School Library Journal, the world’s largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens.
Randa is also the co-editor of Arab Australian Other and the author of Coming of Age in the War on Terror. She is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at Macquarie University and worked previously as a lawyer.
Join Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah in a conversation about Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
This month’s edition takes place in the safe and welcoming space of Arts & Cultural Exchange, Parramatta.
A Western Sydney Book Club explores books led by guest authors, for readers, in and connected to Western Sydney.