What is there to learn from all this…chaos: a Chaotic Reading of Zeyn Joukhader’s The Map of Salt and Star (2018)

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on the core tenets of chaos literary theory, this paper offers a chaotic reading of Zeyn Joukhadar's The Map of Salt and Stars (2018). Set against the backdrop of Syria’s chaotic civil war of 2011, the paper aims to explore the novel's seemingly random structure to portray the unpredictable, chaotic refugee experience. By adopting this analytical lens, the paper attempts to offer a deeper exploration of the novel, discerning the ways in which it resists hegemonic narratives on the Syrian civil war, characterized as it was with its intensely disarrayed nature. Keywords: chaos theory, refugee crisis, resilience, displacement, The Map of Salt and Stars