Resisting Closure, Defying the System: Two Dystopian Novels from Egypt

Abstract

During the past decade, the Egyptian literary scene witnessed the rise of dystopian novels. Even though the emergence of this genre stems mainly from the overall socio-political conditions and the general atmosphere of oppression in the country, this phenomenon has often been interpreted in terms of the disappointing results of the 25th January revolution in 2011. Since dystopias generally paint a bleak picture of society, they are often believed to reflect a rather pessimistic view of their authors. However, according to R. Baccolini and T. Moylan’s theory of critical dystopia, a utopian impulse and hope for better tomorrows can be preserved in dystopias through an open ending. While knowledge of history together with access to personal and collective memories and gaining control over means of language all play a crucial role in dystopian resistance against the hegemonic order and its narratives, it is the absence of closure that opens up the possibility for the opposition to succeed. The aim of this paper is to analyse two contemporary critical dystopias from Egypt, namely Aḥmad Nājī’s Istikhdām al-ḥayāt and Basma ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’s al-Ṭābūr, with regard to Baccolini and Moylan’s theory and to show how the absence of closure in these literary works can help defy the oppressive system. Since an open ending invites readers to finish the story on their own, it can even call them to action. That being the case, the paper argues that these critical dystopias are at their very heart not as pessimistic and defeatist as first impressions might suggest.