What Strange Paradise: A novel

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.

That is the challenge - the adventure! - of reading What Strange Paradise. The author includes his own imaginary trees and birds from the very beginning of the story. They create an ethereal aura that I as the reader needed to accept in order to fully enter the story. At first, I thought it odd - even unnecessary. But by the end, for me, those few imaginary birds and trees were key to my appreciation of the fantasy and of reality. By the end, the story expanded - rose up to fill my mind - and became art. A most unusual experience. I loved it!

This is my 9th read from the Aspen Words longlist and is currently in my top 3. This was a very consuming, slim novel with hefty themes that felt perfect for the prize’s mission.I enjoyed getting to know the two young narrators of the present timeline, Vanna and Amir. This section of the book was almost an adventure story, with these two venturing through the Greek island and trying to keep Amir away from the soldiers who wanted to catch him.The past timeline explored Amir’s journey traveling by boat from Egypt to the Greek island. In this section of the novel, we get to meet several characters immigrating for various reasons. This also deals with some of the immorality of those in business transporting them, and the money that they charge to do so.A lot of this book is difficult to talk about without giving away anything, but I definitely recommend it.

Beautifully written with amazing detail of water and land and the terror of dark nights at sea. Maddening in its denouement.

With the refugee crisis so much in the news, this book was a very good read. It shows the strength and fortitude of two children from opposite sides of the scene. It doesn't hide the brutality of the events. I plan to recommend this book for my book club for the coming season.

I started it in the afternoon and finished it around 10pm. I kept saying at different points through the night to my husband, “Oh this book!” “This is SO good!”El Akkad’s mastery of language that draws you in and holds you TIGHTLY…. His protagonists who make your heart ache…. His ending that, well, I will let you find out for yourself. But this is beyond amazing.

After I read the lovely foreword to the new Arabian Nights book, I wanted to read other works by this author. It was worth it. A beautiful and touching book about the condition of the lives of people trying to build a better life. This is small book, but it is a priceless gem.

Deceptively simple. Well worth the read and the thought it invites.

“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.

Excellent book!

Wonderfully rich, evocative writing and human story that certainly tugs at the heartstrings. While the ending was "happy," per se, it left me hanging. What happened to those two kids after that last boat ride? I hope a sequel is pending, Omar!

This is a novel of undoubted power and passion. There is a problem in the structure of the novel, which is ambitious but may leave the reader puzzled in the end. The conclusion is a little ambiguous and the author's intention likewise.The plot is straightforward. A migrant ship is wrecked off the coast of Kos, an island in the Aegean. A boy is the sole survivor who is taken under the wing of a teenage girl who lives nearby. Together they try to conceal his presence on the island and find him a place of safety. The latter adventure concerns the “after” chapters of the book, which alternates between those and the account of the voyage itself, being "before".Reading through there seemed too much that was not credible, while too many of the sequences were “staged”, many paragraphs seeming like stage directions. Nonetheless it becomes gripping as the story proceeds.The final chapter, a few words, reveals what may or may not be really happening. You could say there were “clues” throughout. Anyway, the book then delivers an entirely different message. It seems to say that those who care about the migrants only really care about themselves.At the very least this is not a helpful position on this global problem/crisis/tragedy. Nor was I convinced that this works as a novel. For all that it is a thought-provoking and moving book.

Extremely well written. I could feel the anguish of the migrants on the boat and the anxiety of the innocent little boy. The compassion and empathy of the two children was well depicted and the senseless rules of the administration. Also, how migrants can be totally misunderstood by others and blamed for their plight. Important read.