What Strange Paradise
{{Short description|2021 novel by Omar El Akkad}}
{{Infobox book
| image = What Strange Paradise.jpg
| caption = First edition cover (publ. Penguin Random House)
| author = Omar El Akkad
| isbn = 9781529069501
| pub_date = August 19, 2021
}}
What Strange Paradise is a novel by Canadian writer Omar El Akkad, published in 2021 by Penguin Random House.Ron Charles, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad/2021/07/26/f728d1fc-ed77-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html "‘What Strange Paradise’ is a visceral account of a refugee’s desperation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221071437/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad/2021/07/26/f728d1fc-ed77-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html |date=2022-02-21 }}. The Washington Post, July 26, 2021. The novel centres on Amir, a young boy from Syria who has survived the sinking of a ship that was carrying him and other refugees, and his developing bond with Vänna, a teenage girl who resides on the island where Amir washed up after the shipwreck.Adil Bhat, [https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/strange-paradise-akkad/ "Omar El Akkad’s Odyssey of Hope"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109053320/https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/strange-paradise-akkad/ |date=2021-11-09 }}. The Nation, November 8, 2021.
The novel won the 2021 Giller Prize.Adina Bresge, [https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/omar-el-akkad-wins-100k-giller-prize-for-what-strange-paradise-1.5657809 "Omar El Akkad wins $100K Giller Prize for 'What Strange Paradise'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109200151/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/omar-el-akkad-wins-100k-giller-prize-for-what-strange-paradise-1.5657809 |date=2021-11-09 }}. CTV News, November 8, 2021.
Reception
According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on thirteen critics: seven "rave" and six "positive".{{Cite web |title=What Strange Paradise|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/what-strange-paradise/|access-date=16 January 2024 |website=Book Marks}} In the November/December 2019 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored 3.5 out of 5. The magazine's critical summary reads: "What Strange Paradise "so astutely unpacks the us-versus-them dynamics of our divided world that it deserves to be an instant classic" (NY Times Book Review)".{{Cite web |title=What Strange Paradise|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/What+Strange+Paradise.-a0706701387|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks}}
Writing for The New York Times Wendell Steavenson described how, "This extraordinary book carries a message, not of a trite and clichéd hope, but of a greater universal humanism, the terrifying idea that, ultimately, there are no special distinctions among us, that in fact we are all very much in the same boat."{{Cite news|last=Steavenson|first=Wendell|date=July 20, 2021|title='What Strange Paradise' Explores Two Sides of a Migrant Crisis|language=|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/books/review/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad.html|access-date=November 17, 2021|issn=|archive-date=November 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130142234/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/books/review/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad.html|url-status=live}} Ron Charles of The Washington Post called the novel "riveting" and noted that, "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."{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Ron|date=July 26, 2021|title='What Strange Paradise' is a visceral account of a refugee's desperation|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad/2021/07/26/f728d1fc-ed77-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html|access-date=November 17, 2021|archive-date=February 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221071437/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/what-strange-paradise-omar-el-akkad/2021/07/26/f728d1fc-ed77-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html|url-status=live}} Similarly, Robert J. Wiersema writing for the magazine Quill & Quire said "What Strange Paradise is an immediate, visceral reading experience. El Akkad offers no easy answers, save the reminder of our common humanity and the importance of the simplicity of right and wrong. And that is, truly, more than enough."{{Cite news|last=Wiersema|first=Robert J.|title=What Strange Paradise|work=Quill & Quire|url=https://quillandquire.com/review/what-strange-paradise/|access-date=November 17, 2021}} The Guardian
What Strange Paradise was shortlisted for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize.{{Cite web |last=Schaub |first=Michael |date=2022-02-28 |title=Finalists for Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/finalists-for-aspen-words-literary-prize-revealed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228182258/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/finalists-for-aspen-words-literary-prize-revealed/ |archive-date=2022-02-28 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Chadburn |first=Melissa |date=2022-02-28 |title=Awards: New-York Historical Society Zalaznick Winner; Aspen Words Shortlist |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4178 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228164124/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4178 |archive-date=2022-02-28 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=Shelf Awareness}} It was also selected for the 2022 edition of Canada Reads, where it was defended by entrepreneur Tareq Hadhad.[https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2022-contenders-1.6326413 "Meet the Canada Reads 2022 contenders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210171552/https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2022-contenders-1.6326413 |date=2022-02-10 }}. CBC Books, January 26, 2022.