Read this essay in Arabic here. This piece is part of a limited series on shifting narratives in Syrian literature, guest edited by novelist Rosa Yassin Hassan.
In 2015, the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to the Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, whose work mixes narration, journalistic techniques and direct observation, recording testimonies and documentation.
Alexievich was among the main voices representing an international narrative experience which cemented that literary genre: the documentary novel. This genre influenced many narrative experiences across the world, including the Syrian novel, which, like other forms of art, acquired new artistic features in the wake of the huge political and social events of 2011.