What Strange Paradise (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781984899248)

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR - From the widely acclaimed, bestselling author of American War--a beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving novel that looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child.

"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." --The New York Times Book Review

More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another overfilled, 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 back in their homelands. But miraculously, someone has survived the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who is soon rescued by V舅na. V舅na is a teenage girl, who, despite being native to the island, experiences her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though V舅na and Amir are complete strangers, though they don't speak a common language, V舅na is determined to do whatever it takes to save the boy.

In alternating chapters, we learn about Amir's life and how he came to be on the boat, and we follow him and the girl as they make their way toward safety. What Strange Paradise is the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world. But it is also a story of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair--and about the way each of those things can blind us to reality.

Author: Omar El Akkad
ISBN-10: 1984899244
ISBN-13: 9781984899248
Publisher: Vintage
Language: English
Published: 06/07/2022
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.60h x 5.00w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Shelf Awareness 06/24/2022