The novel about the Syrian war after the Arab Spring

Since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011, stories about the revolution have spread in different ways.

Novels became an important tool for writers to understand and express what was happening. These authors wanted to capture the changes, destruction and personal stories of their communities before Western media could influence the narrative.

Fadi Azzam is one of these novelists. He began with his popular book Sarmadwhich contained magical elements. Later he wrote Huddud’s Housewith a greater emphasis on realistic representations.

Huddud’s House follows four main characters – Fidel, a famous filmmaker; Layl, an upper-class doctor; Anees, a successful surgeon; and Samia, a revolutionary lawyer. They are bound by friendship and love, but are repeatedly separated by the dictatorship and war in Syria.

This epic story is about Syria just before and during the war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, divided the country, scattered its population and devastated the countryside.

It is also a story about love in all its forms: romantic, parental, platonic and patriotic.

The novel begins on a film set in Dubai, but things quickly change when Fidel suddenly receives a call telling him to travel to Damascus to shoot a commercial for a new hospital.

This scene sets the tone for the rest Huddud’s HouseThe main characters, along with other Syrians, are suddenly torn from their normal lives into the harsh reality of war.

The conflict, foreshadowed by recent protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and fuelled by growing anger at the corrupt and negligent government, is finally erupting.

The stakes are high in this war. Rulers will protect their regimes at all costs from rebel groups pursuing their goals, while foreign powers will intervene to protect their interests.

But the real victims are the ordinary people who just want to survive and the real revolutionaries who are fighting to protect Syria’s land, culture, heritage, values ​​and history.

Fadi Azzam illustrates this with his book, which embodies Syria.

This ancient house, which preserves the history of the country in its books, artifacts and walls, has been repeatedly destroyed but has always emerged stronger and symbolizes the resilience of the Syrian people:

The human side of revolution and conflict

Through the experiences of the main character, we witness events from the beginning of the revolution to the outbreak of the war. These include destruction, massacres and the mass exodus of the population.

Even if these characters are not marginalized, they are well aware of the problems of the marginalized population. They too face their own challenges in resisting the regime.

Through their relationships with influential people, we see how regime loyalists manipulate situations. As the story progresses, these characters become more tangible and help us better understand the conflict by bridging the gap between the warring groups.

The characters also offer a close look at how people with choices behave in difficult situations. Unlike normal people, Fidel, Layl, Anees and Samia are presented with options, and the central question throughout the novel is how they will act upon them.

Fadi Azzam’s characters are portrayed as complex individuals with strengths and weaknesses. In times of peace, they represent strong values ​​and principles, but these are severely tested in times of war.

As events unfold, they sometimes act in ways that run counter to their values, while at other times they return to them.

Ultimately, it becomes clear that only those who are truly committed to revolution and change will act consistently for the good of the general public.

These people remain loyal to the revolution and protect what is left in Syria. In contrast, people in the diaspora live far away from the harsh reality.

The disillusioned and the privileged often flee or pursue personal interests when conditions worsen.

Themes such as love, war and identity are explored

Huddud’s House is a story rooted in the Syrian war, but it is also a book about love. Fadi Azzam explores the characters’ fears, desires, worries and inner strength through love, just as he does through war.

The characters are confronted with the turmoil of love, especially when it is forbidden, from separation to falling in love and from longing to reunion.

Not even war can erase love, and love seems to feed on the chaos it creates. This is what Anees thinks when he is reunited with his beloved:

This love goes beyond the romantic and includes paternal, platonic and patriotic love. True friends show their love through their actions in the worst of times.

For example, Issa risks his life to bring his two friends together, and Helen, Fidel’s British ex-wife, helps him despite her unrest.

While in exile, almost all of the characters realize that they love Syria despite its fatal flaws and long to return to its streets, its skies, its smells, and its people.

Whether in culturally different places like London or more familiar places like Dubai, they feel trapped in a meaningless life without purpose, especially when they are forced to move for survival.

This feeling is probably familiar to many Syrian refugees, whose country remains in a state of war.

Huddud’s House covers more than just these two topics: it also touches on Islam, Sufi teachings, Gulf and European countries, love and sex, prisons and torture, and the distorted portrayal of the war in Syria by the Western media.

Although some passages, such as the sections about Layl’s new friend in the Emirates, are overly detailed, the novel is a compelling read.

It mixes history, action, love and politics with poetic language and vivid images: “The only sound that could be heard in the all-encompassing silence of the desert was the hissing of the sand.”

Or “It was a place where suddenly the valves opened and everyone spoke at the same time. Fifty years of silence suddenly exploded.”

Ghada Alatrash’s masterful translation from Arabic to English beautifully captures the essence of the novel.

Huddud’s House is not only entertaining, but a must-read. It covers the author’s life in Damascus, London and Dubai and mixes true stories with fictional characters.

The inscription emphasizes the importance of telling true stories and preserving the memory and history of a nation, as this is essential for the realization of freedom, justice and democracy.

Saliha Haddad is an Algerian journalist, writer, teacher and literary agent

Follow her on Twitter: @sallyhad3