Suspended Temporality: A Necropolitical Reading of Susan Abulhawa’s Against the Loveless World

Abstract

This article examines Susan Abulhawa’s novel Against the Loveless World within the framework of necropolitics and temporal studies, showing how time functions as a tool of colonial domination and a space for Palestinian resistance. I develop an integrated theoretical framework that combines Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics, Elizabeth Freeman’s notion of chrononormativity, and my own contribution of “suspended temporality”, a condition in which time appears simultaneously stationary and fractured under colonial regimes. This conceptual triad allows for a nuanced examination of the ways in which the novel’s protagonist, Nahr, navigates the temporal ruptures that occupation entails. The prison cell, often referred to as a “Cube,” functions as a central spatio-temporal metaphor that illustrates the mechanisms of necropolitical power exerting influence through the staging of time. Through the use of a non-linear narrative structure, inter-generational memory and deliberate temporal displacement, Abulhawa’s work questions colonial temporalities and constructs alternative chronologies that defy historical erasure. An exploration alongside other postcolonial and diasporic literatures shows how Palestinian temporal resistance engages with global trends in decolonial esthetics while preserving its unique historical context. This research enhances our understanding of the ways in which Palestinian women navigate and resist necropolitical domination, and demonstrates that the concept of temporal justice should be integral to decolonial initiatives.