Spring in Ashes

Zakaria Tamer’s stories tell of a Damascus immersed in its dark depths, far from the stars, bearing piercing violence and blood-soaked cruelty. Justice does not triumph in the fierce conflict there, but within it, the dream of spaciousness and freedom never dies, as if the sky moves above humanity, fleeing and never setting.
The stories are generally characterized by a conflict between two poles. The oppressive side bears a moral or political aspect, a modern, popular narrative about the values ​​of the search for freedom, the love of women, nature, and justice, and the defeated dreams of humanity.
The stories exude the scent of Damascus, its alleys and Ghouta, its sun and humidity. However, these stories are not touristic folklore; they do not pass as a show, but rather as a rupture in a tragic conflict, at a moment of acute, stifling crisis.