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by Omar El Akkad (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,833)
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Get 5% off $50 with eligible NAB Cards. Enter code NAB5 at checkout. Discount by Amazon. TermsWINNER OF THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE 2021 From the widely acclaimed author of American War, Omar El Akkad, a beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic and profoundly moving novel that brings the global refugee crisis down to the level of a child's eyes. More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another over-filled, ill-equipped, dilapidated ship has sunk under the weight of its too-many passengers: Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians, all of them desperate to escape untenable lives in their homelands. And only one had made the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who has the good fortune to fall into the hands not of the officials, but of Vänna: a teenage girl, native to the island, who lives inside her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though Vänna and Amir are complete strangers and don't speak a common language, Vänna determines to do whatever it takes to save him. In alternating chapters, we learn the story of Amir's life and of how he came to be on the boat; and we follow the duo as they make their way towards a vision of safety. But as the novel unfurls, we begin to understand that this is not merely the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world. Omar El Akkad's What Strange Paradise is the story of our collective moment in this time: of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair - and of the way each of those things can blind us to reality, or guide us to a better one. PRAISE FOR WHAT STRANGE PARADISE 'Impassioned and richly detailed, What Strange Paradise moves like a thriller and punches like a work of art. With this haunting story of refugees, high seas, sharks and Samaritans, Omar El Akkad continues on his impressive exploration of our contemporary world.' Aravind Adiga, bestselling author of Amnesty and White Tiger 'What Strange Paradise is by turns tender and brutal in its truths. It is tremendously written, propulsive as it is expansive as it is granular in its specificities. Omar El Akkad writes with such emotional precision, power, and grace. Here we get the wondrousness of children set in sharp relief against a backdrop of the all too common dehumanization then dismissal of refugees everywhere. The book devastates and uplifts, somehow, and we are not left with hope-that isn't the point-but asked to witness, to see what is here, with clarity, and with fullness of heart.' Tommy Orange, bestselling author of There There 'What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad just resuscitated my heart. This novel-following a boy who survives a refugee passage, and a girl whose homeland feels fractured-dares to unite us on the shore of shared human experience, and redefines hope in the face of despair. I want to read this book every single day. I want to live in a world where the beauty of strangers is a heartsong.' Lidia Yuknavitch, author of Verge 'It is one thing to put a human face on a migrant crisis and another to do so in so compelling a way that a reader simply cannot put your book down. I read this in one sitting, my heart pounding the whole way-in a strange paradise, you might say. Marvelous.' Gish Jen, author of The Resisters 'Extraordinary . . . Told from the point of view of two children, on the ground and at sea, the story so astutely unpacks the us-versus-them dynamics of our divided world that it deserves to be an instant classic. I haven't loved a book this much in a long time.' Wendell Steavenson, The New York Times Book Review 'Deserves to be an instant classic. I haven't loved a book this much in a long time . . . What Strange Paradise . . . reads as a parable for our times . . . Such beautiful writing . . . This is an extraordinary book.' - New York Times 'An extremely accomplished and moving novel, but also a gripping page-turner . . . It reads as a type of shattered fairy tale on several levels: the hopes and dreams of the boat refugees, and the superhuman feats enabling Amir and Vanna...
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ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, NPR, BuzzFeed - Winner of the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize - Finalist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize - Finalist for the 2022 Oregon Book Award
"Extraordinary . . . Told from the point of view of two children, on the ground and at sea, the story so astutely unpacks the us-versus-them dynamics of our divided world that it deserves to be an instant classic. I haven't loved a book this much in a long time."
--Wendell Steavenson, The New York Times Book Review
"Riveting . . . Nothing I've read before has given me such a visceral sense of the grisly predicament confronted by millions of people expelled from their homes by conflict and climate change. Though What Strange Paradise celebrates a few radical acts of compassion, it does so only by placing those moments of moral courage against a vast ocean of cruelty."
--Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"Hope and kindness light the story in unexpected ways . . . El Akkad's precise prose allows him to inject heartfelt observations throughout the novel . . . Perhaps El Akkad's biggest accomplishment with What Strange Paradise is that it manages to push past political talking points and shocking statistics to rehumanize the discussion about migration on a global scale, and it does so with enough heart to be memorable."
--Gabino Iglesias, NPR
"[What Strange Paradise is] simple in the way that novels like The Stranger or Of Mice and Men are: brief, taut, cooly delivered but with seas of emotion swirling underneath."
--Mark Athitakis, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In his acclaimed bestselling debut, American War, El Akkad demonstrated his ability to capture complex political events and place them on a personal scale. With his new novel, What Strange Paradise, he has done it again, this time asking questions about the global refugee crisis."
--The Millions, "Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2021 Book Preview"
"What Strange Paradise is by turns tender and brutal in its truths. It is tremendously written, propulsive as it is expansive as it is granular in its specificities. Omar El Akkad writes with such emotional precision, power, and grace. Here we get the wondrousness of children set in sharp relief against a backdrop of the all too common dehumanization then dismissal of refugees everywhere. The book devastates and uplifts, somehow, and we are not left with hope--that isn't the point--but asked to witness, to see what is here, with clarity, and with fullness of heart."
--Tommy Orange, author of There There
"What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad just resuscitated my heart. This novel--following a boy who survives a refugee passage, and a girl whose homeland feels fractured--dares to unite us on the shore of shared human experience, and redefines hope in the face of despair. I want to read this book every single day. I want to live in a world where the beauty of strangers is a heartsong."
--Lidia Yuknavitch, author of Verge
"It is one thing to put a human face on a migrant crisis and another to do so in so compelling a way that a reader simply cannot put your book down. I read this in one sitting, my heart pounding the whole way--in a strange paradise, you might say. Marvelous."
--Gish Jen, author of The Resisters
"What an imaginative, touching, and necessary novel Omar El Akkad has brought to us. It reminds us of the human stories behind headlines and statistics, and gives us one of the most memorable children characters, whose story adds urgency and poignancy to that 'awfully big adventure' stated by Peter Pan."
--Yiyun Li, author of Must I Go
"Impassioned and richly detailed, What Strange Paradise moves like a thriller and punches like a work of art. With this haunting story of refugees, high seas, sharks and Samaritans, Omar El Akkad continues on his impressive exploration of our contemporary world."
--Aravind Adiga, author of The White Tiger and Amnesty
"Great literature about migration should rehumanize the discourse surrounding it. What Strange Paradise does a fantastic job of that. Touching, gritty, and told in a unique voice that places childhood at the center of the discussion, this is a tender, haunting work about refugees everyone should read."
--NPR, "July Book-Ahead: What We're Excited to Read Next Month"
"Searing, lyrical . . . A beguiling parable of dispossessed peoples and the burning desire for home."
--Oprah Daily, "18 of the Best Books to Pick Up This July"
"Riveting . . . an intimate action-adventure story that's laced with hope and compassion, emotions with the power to transcend borders and worldly disputes."
-- G. Robert Frazier, BookPage
"El Akkad. . . expertly contrasts the well-paced story of Amir's predicament with the ill-fated voyage that brought him to Greece. The ragtag bunch of strangers on the boat forms an incredibly well-drawn portrait of humanity as everyone bonds together initially, even with dollops of humor thrown in . . . A suspenseful and heartbreaking painting of the refugee crisis as experienced by two children caught in the crosshairs."
--Booklist, starred
"El Akkad's compelling, poetic prose captures the precarity and desperation of people pushed to the brink . . . A compassionate snapshot of one Syrian refugee's struggle to plot a course for home."
--Kirkus Reviews
Review
For fans of Exit West and The Underground Railroad and from the widely acclaimed author of American War comes a profoundly moving novel examining the global refugee crisis through a child’s lens.
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What Strange ParadiseProduct details
ASIN : B094HQQ1Z3
Publisher : Picador
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : 27 July 2021
Top reviews from other countries
Teranga
5 out of 5 stars
A must read book on migration for our times.
Reviewed in Canada on 19 March 2023
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“The child lies on the shore” and so begins the first sentence of the book What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad.
This was a truly eye opening and heartbreaking story of migrants desperate to leave poverty behind in Africa and head to Europe for a new beginning and a better life.
Amir is a 9 year old boy who has followed his Quiet Uncle onto a leaky boat for this perilous journey. It is also the story of Vanna, a local island girl, who makes it her mission to save him when he comes ashore. Colonel Kethros and his men hunt them down.
This novel brings to light the realities and obstacles faced by migrants by focusing on one or two travellers including the smuggler who cynically describes their broken dreams.
The ending to me was absolutely shocking and I do believe I understood what the author was trying to convey.
It was very well written by interspersing before and after chapters. It deserved the 2021 Giller Prize. It is a book that I would recommend as a must read for our times.
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Deep Thought
5 out of 5 stars
Breathtaking prose. Hardly a word wasted.
Reviewed in the United States on 17 May 2023
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I appreciated the “before” and “after” time line. I felt abandoned at the “now” ending. A child, dead, with a bell shaped piece of jewelry around his neck…representative of how the tragedy of refugees repeats, in an endless loop. I am to do something to stop this from replaying time and again; yes? The juxtaposition of ‘Western wealth’ through the presence of the resort hotel and the impoverished nature of the overcrowded refugee camp (unable to obtain even the basics:potable water) is a motivating call to deeply feel the impact of the widening gap between the ‘engines’ and the ‘fuel’ as the author puts it and to take some action to produce positive change. The author, I believe, makes it clear through Mohamed’s words on The Calypso, that change is very unlikely to occur. The ‘haves’ will continue to ‘have’ at the expense of the ‘have-nots’. If you allow yourself to read deeply, you will find yourself questioning much. This book is worthy of your time.
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S.Daglas
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!
Reviewed in Germany on 6 January 2022
Format: Hardcover
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Excellent book!
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Indrajit Dey
4 out of 5 stars
A good read
Reviewed in India on 24 March 2026
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A story from the immigrants perspective. Well written. Enjoyed the back and forth. The end however is both tragic as it is hopeful.
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Valerie McIntyre
4 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed the book but disappointed with ending.
Reviewed in Canada on 14 August 2021
Verified Purchase
In my opinion this was a good realistic believable story with the various characters. I was disappointed that the story ended too soon leaving the reader hanging as to where and what happened next to the two main characters? Was this done for the purpose of a sequel?
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