“When you’re writing this kind of fiction,” he says, “you’re essentially trying to draw a map that is in some way fundamentally different from the prevailing map of the literary world. (El Akkad says that in his place of birth, Cairo, resistance fiction could mean jailtime or having your life threatened.)ĥ) It cannot “hide behind language” and requires a clarity of meaning. It led me to understand the meaning of fear and loneliness, which continue to plague me as I work through yet another draft of my novel.Įl Akkad says that “resistance fiction,” which stands in opposition to injustice, faces several challenges:ġ) It has a harder time getting published because there are few precedents on which a publisher can base their sales estimates.Ģ) It also faces challenges in terms of how its read because there are no existing templates for that kind of book.ģ) It might take years, decades, centuries for it to be understood in a way that is not at odds with how it was intended.Ĥ) It has greater consequences. In this free talk organized by the FOLD in mid-January, I was grateful to learn about “resistance fiction” from the author of American War. “Style and Form in Resistance-Themed Fiction with Omar El Akkad” was one such Zoom. Other times, there are Zooms that can return you exactly where you need to be. Last week it took me five days to recover from the nausea, headaches, and light sensitivity caused by one single day of back-to-back virtual meetings. Sometimes there are Zoom meetings that can break you.
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