The Art of Trauma Testimonies: The Credibility of Fictional Accounts in Berytus madῑna taḥt al-arḍ

In a close reading of Jaber’s novel Berytus madῑna taḥt al-arḍ (2005), this chapter focuses on the problematics of ‘speaking’ about the traumatic event during mass annihilation. Between testifying, bearing witnessbear witness, and bearing second-hand witnesswitness to traumatic experiences, it reconsiders what it means for an account to be credible, giving preference to the mitigation of the victimvictim’s pain over historical accuracy. It first advances a type of ‘false testimonies’ that are needed, not only as an attempt to explore the event, but also as a means to control the form of relation with that event. It then proceeds to draw on the critical role the listener playstrauma listener as a co-producer of the testimonytestimony, drafting a literary model that centers on Jaber’s employment of a doppelgänger to produce credible forms of bearing first and second-hand witnesswitness to past and present violence.