A review by rufio7
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

5.0

This could be read as a straightforward tale humanizing the individual in the migrant crisis. But as the book progressed (especially the last chapter) there is so much more to unpack and debate. The author calls out the momentary Western sympathy and how we use these stories to validate our own internal righteousness and sense of being good people but continue on with no action. It doesn't offer a solution to the problem, but it also illustrates how some of the characters/roles can't be painted as one-dimensional villains and are a part of a more problematic culture and world.