What Strange Paradise

Content warning: This Symbols and Motifs section contains references to distressing scenes, including the death of children.

Allusions to Greek mythology are a common motif in What Strange Paradise. Half of the novel takes place in Greece, presumable the Island of Kos, though the name of the island is never specifically mentioned once Amir is there. Kos shares in Greece’s ancient history; ancient Koans fought alongside the Greeks in the Trojan War, according to Homer’s Iliad. The name of the ship, the Calypso, is a direct allusion to another work by Homer, the Odyssey. Calypso is the name of a nymph with whom the hero Odysseus spends seven years bewitched and distracted from his journey home. The name Calypso comes from the ancient Greek word for “concealed;” because of this, the name of the human trafficking ship may be a reference to its need to remain concealed, or even to the lower-class refugees concealed beneath the deck.

In addition to the Calypso, Vänna’s surname, Hermes, is the name of the messenger god of the Greek Pantheon. In addition to serving as a liaison between the gods and mortals, Hermes is also a god of boundaries, including the boundary between life and death.