الديستوبيا في الرواية العربيّة السوريّة؛ قراءةٌ في رواية "لا سكاكين في مطابخ هذه المدينة" لخالد خليفة

Abstract

This research unpacks depictions of dystopia (the corrupted city) in contemporary Syrian fiction, focusing on Khaled Khalifa’s novel Lā Sakākīn fī Maṭbakh Haḏih al-Madīnah [No Knives in This City’s Kitchens]. The novel serves as a literary model that reflects the tragic Syrian reality under an authoritarian regime amid a devastating war. It offers a critical lens on the harsh realities of life under dictatorship, as the author, writing from his hometown, Aleppo, portrays the suffering of its inhabitants since the Ba’ath Party’s rise to power in 1963. Accordingly, this research seeks to uncover how the novel presents various manifestations of political and social repression, as well as expressions of loss and fear. It also explores the relationship between the ruling party and the people, as the party’s use of all means of torture and violence drove citizens to flee the horrors of war through migration and exile.

By analysing the novel’s events, characters, and political developments, this paper sheds light on the different forms of dystopia in contemporary Syrian fiction. It assesses the extent to which it succeeds in portraying actual scenes of war and fear. In the Syrian context, fiction is not merely a literary work but also serves as a historical document that records the spread of corruption and its transformation into a fully realised dystopian space. Indeed, contemporary Syrian fiction reveals a terrifying image of the corruption of power, its institutions, and the media, as well as its relationship with the people who have been subjected to various forms of intimidation, torture, and imprisonment.