Mapping Arabic Dystopian Novels: Double-Edged Sword.

This article explores the literary trajectory of dystopia from Western to Arabic literature and vice versa, seeking to reveal a double-edged aspect of the genre, particularly in the works of Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue (2013) and Mohammad Rabie’s Otared (2014). I examine how these texts reflect Western influences while simultaneously engaging with the status quo in post Arab Spring countries. By drawing on Edward Said’s “Travel Theory” and David Damrosch’s “double refraction” metaphor, I seek to highlight the round-trip journey of dystopia from Western to Arabic literature and its transformation to the global capital. Equally important, I discuss the role of translation in influencing the development of Arabic dystopia and refracting it back to its origin, albeit dynamically. Here, translation assumes significance in the bilateral influence of the genre, particularly the dynamic absorption of Western forms in the Arabic dystopian novels that manifest these with the existing sociopolitical conditions while refracting such grisly circumstances onto global literary capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]