What Strange Paradise

What Strange Paradise interweaves the stories of Amir, a young Syrian boy shipwrecked on a small Greek island, and Vänna, a teenage islander. Amir’s harrowing flight from the war in Syria contrasts sharply with Vänna’s sheltered island life. As Vänna becomes entangled in Amir’s fate, they both confront the hostility, indifference, and inhumanity of a system and culture grappling with the migrant crisis.

Themes of identity, belonging, resilience, and the desire for a better future run through the book. El Akkad poignantly depicts the hostility and prejudice that greet Amir upon his arrival, reflecting broader societal attitudes toward migrants.

What Strange Paradise also shines a light on critical human rights issues, including the right to seek asylum, the right to live free from fear and persecution, and the right to dignity.

El Akkad’s depiction of Amir’s perilous journey underscores the desperation that drives individuals to flee their homelands, often risking their lives in search of safety. The novel also depicts the way governments and social structures marginalize vulnerable people, highlighting the systemic injustices and human rights violations that migrants and refugees endure. By focusing on the personal stories of Amir and Vänna, El Akkad humanizes the refugee crisis, urging readers to consider the moral and ethical responsibilities they hold towards those seeking refuge.

El Akkad is an Egyptian-born Canadian novelist and journalist who lives in Portland, Oregon. His fiction and non-fiction writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Guernica, GQ and many other publications.