What Strange Paradise

Content warning: Chapters 1-5 Summary and Analysis contains references to xenophobia.

In the aftermath of a storm, a boy, Amir Utu, wakes up on an island beach. He is the sole survivor of the refugee ship that carried him across the ocean. As he gradually comes to his senses, a crowd gathers near the beach comprised officials, gawkers, and news media. Small, orange-throated migratory birds look down on the scene. The coast guard officials attempt to block the wreckage and bodies from view. This has become more and more of a common occurrence on the island.

Amir gets up, becoming gradually aware of the bodies around him. Two of the officials approach him, shouting in a language he does not understand. He flees into the nearby forest. 

Amir and his family flee from Homs to Damascus, Syria, on a crowded bus. He is with his mother, Iman; his uncle, Younis, who married Iman after Amir’s father’s disappearance and whom Amir calls “Quiet Uncle;” and Haroun, Amir’s new half-brother. Amir wonders how a man as weak as Quiet Uncle can be expected to care for all of them.

Amir’s hearing was damaged by the bomb that destroyed their home. On the bus, he cannot hear Iman’s incessant questioning.