Narrative Disruption and Collective Trauma in Yemeni Novels
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Abstract
This article argues that modern Yemeni novels develop a distinct, culturally situated model of trauma testimony—one that is collective—through innovative narrative techniques. Through an interdisciplinary lens integrates decolonial feminist theory, trauma studies, and postcolonial narratology, this analysis demonstrates how narrative fragmentation, polyphony, and symbolic economies actively resist Eurocentric trauma paradigms that prioritize individual healing and narrative closure. Through close readings of Zayd Mutee Dammaj’s The Hostage (1984/1994), Wajdi al-Ahdal’s A Land Without Jasmine (2012), and Nadia al-Kokabani's Tears of the Soul (2017), this study positions Yemeni fiction within a broader Arabic literary context while highlighting its unique formal and ethical interventions. Ultimately, this paper calls for a re-evaluation of both the Arabic literary canon and contemporary trauma theory, by integrating decolonial feminist, trauma, and narratological frameworks to illuminate how narrative form itself functions as a site of epistemological resistance and communal endurance.
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