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A review by justabean_reads
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely gorgeous, haunting book about people being terrible, basically. A 9-year-old Syrian refugee tries to escape to western Europe by boat, and shipwrecks on an unnamed island, where he is pursued by the army. It's told in alternating sections between his landing on the island, and flashbacks to his escape from Syria, with a very ambiguous ending.
Of all things, it reminded me most of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa for its vibe of being trapped on an island of dreamlike horror. Other than the boy, none of the characters feel quite real (nor are they meant to), the prose is detached and lyrical, and the paradise of the title is a lie. It should have been super depressing, and it wasn't pretty, but it ended up feeling insightful and empathetic in a way I don't often run into.
Of all things, it reminded me most of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa for its vibe of being trapped on an island of dreamlike horror. Other than the boy, none of the characters feel quite real (nor are they meant to), the prose is detached and lyrical, and the paradise of the title is a lie. It should have been super depressing, and it wasn't pretty, but it ended up feeling insightful and empathetic in a way I don't often run into.
In discussion of young dumbfuck soldiers guarding refugee camps: "For years these soldiers have been taught to wield hammers, only to come to the island and find not nails, but glass."