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Every book Omar El Akkad recommended on podcasts
Omar El Akkad appeared on The Book Review podcast to discuss his creative process, the origins of his literary works, and the reception of his fiction. As an author whose writing often explores dystopian futures and the harsh realities of displacement, El Akkad shared insights into how journalism and real-world events heavily influence his narratives. He discussed the conceptual origins of his debut novel, American War, noting how a reporting assignment on polio vaccinations directly shaped a scene in the book. He also reflected on the surprising reader reactions his novel generated, including a startling blurb from a Texas bookseller who viewed the story as a warning about the brutality of a hypothetical second civil war. Furthermore, El Akkad contrasted American War with his subsequent novel, What Strange Paradise, describing the latter as a much shorter, quieter book that serves as a contemporary, allegorical reinterpretation of the Peter Pan myth through the lens of a child refugee's journey.
Books recommended by Omar El Akkad
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American War
American War by Omar El Akkad is a dystopian debut novel that imagines a fractured United States caught in the throes of a second civil war in the late twenty-first century.
Discussed“so that was the premise around which American war coalesced”
Where to get it
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What Strange Paradise
Discussed“it's a reinterpretation I suppose of of Peter Pan it's a story of Peter Pan retold as as the story of a contemporary child Refugee and it's a much shorter quieter book than American war”
Where to get it
Books Omar El Akkad wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echoes of a Fairy Tale in a Devastating Novel | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 9 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“it's a reinterpretation I suppose of of Peter Pan it's a story of Peter Pan retold as as the story of a contemporary child Refugee and it's a much shorter quieter book than American war”
“recently I was I was rereading a section of American war”