What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

On today's episode, we speak with Omar El Akkad about his novel What Strange Paradise, recently released in paperback. Called “an instant classic” by the New York Times, What Strange Paradise is the searing story about one boy’s perilous journey toward safety in a desperate ocean crossing and beyond.

In the words of Lidia Yuknavitch, “What Strange Paradise just resuscitated my heart. This novel—following a boy who survives a refugee passage, and a girl whose homeland feels fractured—dares to unite us on the shore of shared human experience, and redefines hope in the face of despair. I want to read this book every single day. I want to live in a world where the beauty of strangers is a heartsong.”