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There are currently 39 member reviews
for The Book of Strange New Things
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Janis H. (Willow Street, PA)
The Book of Strange New Things
The first chapter of Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things lures the reader into joining Pastor Peter Leigh on his journey to an extra-earthly world named Oasis where he will fulfill his assignment as Minister (Christian) to Indigenous Population. In that first chapter we watch an ordinary married couple who passionately love each other and have committed themselves to the success of Peter's mission for the ambiguous USIC. Peter feels both honored that the USIC has selected him from many other applicants and conflicted that it did not choose his wife Beatrice, his inspiration and his guide thus far in his life, to accompany him. We also see the anxiety they both feel at the thought of a six month separation.
The next one hundred pages slowly progress as Peter arrives after a month's travel and acclimates himself to his sterile accommodations, his new diet of pseudo food, and the common bantering of the other USIC employees. He meets his caustic and unfriendly personal assistant, Alex Grainger whose purpose is to see to his every need and to accompany him safely to and from the Oasan people
Early in the development of their relationship, she realizes that Peter is "not an uneducated holy roller from Hicksville;" however, Peter's unemotional responses to situations, his wide eyed idealism and naiveté contradicts his past. He tells Grainger, "I never went to Bible School. I went to the University of Hard Drinking and Drug Abuse." Although his character morphs several times throughout the book, Peter remains aloof, pedantic, and begs the reader to ask, "What is happening?"
Faber's book defies a specific genre categorization. Is it a parable of a journey and thus the naming of the characters Peter and Beatrice not a coincidence? Peter's first meeting with an Oasan overwhelms him with joy as the Oasan, whose physical face reminds him of two three month old twin fetuses, tells Peter that the others have prayed for his coming. Unlike the Biblical Saint Peter he does not need to evangelize; therefore, the theme cannot relate to evangelizing Christians who enter a foreign world, attempt to bring them to Christ, then plunder their land. No, Peter has entered Paradise. Unlike Dante's Beatrice, Peter's Beatrice is not by his physical side as she has always been. When he emails her of his good news, she replies with the first of many tragic stories which will soon consume her apocalyptic world. As his faith and conviction grows stronger, Bea's grows weaker.
Peter begins to grow more distant emotionally to Bea's pregnancy, in which he neither expected or rejoiced. His life with the Oasans fulfills him. He farms with them; he attempts to learn their language. Then, is this book a character study of a man who deeply loves his wife, accepts the challenge which USIC presents to him, and loses faith in his ability to be the best person to both entities? Although the Oasans do not share human appearance or the human tendency to reveal and reflect on the past or the future. they show outstanding ability to return Peter's love for them. Literally it takes a lightning bolt striking the vehicle in which Grainger escorts him back to the base, to force the reticent Grainger to reveal the mission and his role in that mission that USIC hopes to accomplish. Peter's self loathing and his neglect of Bea's emotional state sends him to despair. His epiphany that he fears he will never minister again makes him realize that his love for Bea is greater than the project.
I have to admit that science fiction is not my favorite genre; however, Faber writes so persuasively that I actually rooted for the Oasans and Peter's relationship to succeed. I did not feel as if I were reading about someone who was an interplanetary traveler. One has to read the book to understand the next statement: I struggled to try to skip s's and t's in pronunciation of words. I felt pain for Peter's and Bea's situation. I believe that each person who reads this book will take a special memory from it. Although it is nearly 500 pages and it moves slowly in the first half, it is definitely one of the most thought provoking books I have read in awhile.
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Melissa, Florida
Mesmerizing and inspiring.
This was one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, both the story and the actual book. The author took special care to draw you into a world filled with faith and love. It is one of the most original books I have ever read. Don't miss this one!!!
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Sandra W. (Marietta, OH)
An Unexpected Journey
I have enjoyed this author in the past and I loved this books. This story is like nothing I have read before. It is an adventure story, a character study and also thought provoking philosophical book. I felt like I was on a journey with the missionary and his wife. Though separated they were each on their own journey. I know this book will resonate with other readers. I am anxious to read what others think of this book. I was disappointed to be at the end of this book. I am sure it is a book that I will revisit in the future.
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Laurette A. (Rome, NY)
What If....
What if you had the opportunity to go to another world and bring the Good News to a people very different from yourself? What if it entailed leaving your wife/partner in your ministry behind here on earth? Would you go? This is the situation Peter Leigh and his wife Bea face. Peter chooses to go and brings "The Book of Strange New Things" to the inhabitants of this alien world. The trials he faces there and the ones his wife faces here on earth and how these events change each of them is the basis of the story. Being a Christian I appreciated the way Michael Faber incorporated parts of the gospel into this well written and interesting novel, and I especially loved his paraphrasing of the 23rd Psalm. This would be an excellent choice for a book club discussion.
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Portia A. (Mount Laurel, NJ)
A Really Fascinating Book
I never read science fiction, so I was truly surprised by how much I liked this book. It is an intriguing story of another world and how a minister from this world would find his message received by the inhabitants of this strange place. His wife is here and he is there. Can their marriage survive? Read this book; you won't be sorry.
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Anne G. (Byram, MS)
A Memorable Book
Would you accept a new job in a place light years away from Earth? Where you had to leave all your family and friends behind? Where the "natives" understood some of your language but you understood not one word of theirs? Where your co-workers barely noticed you?
Peter, (astute readers will notice the appropriate use of this name), is accepted for a job far away from his routine, comfortable life on Earth. He arrives at his destination tired, sick, and immediately begin to feel adjustment turmoil. He begins to wonder about the purpose of the base camp on a planet so far from home, and sets out to answer some of his unspoken questions.
Readers will immediately begin to have many questions that are revealed like peeling the layers of an onion. While life on Earth begins to deteriorate to resemble Hell on Earth, Peter faces his own physical and mental challenges. Being separated from the ones he loves begins to take a heavy toll, changing him into someone he barely recognizes.
Even upon completion of the book, there are still a few unanswered questions. Perhaps it is assumed the reader will work out the answers for themselves after reading this complex, genre bending book. One thing for sure, once read, this book will not soon be forgotten.
Multi-Genre: sci-fi, with a touch of inspiration and romance
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Ilyse B. (Howell, NJ)
Wonderfully Unique
The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber is unlike anything I have read before. It is a wonderful story about faith, love, religion and responsibility. The main character, a pastor, struggles with these issues as they relate to his relationship with his wife, as well as to his responsibility to the world at large. The fact that he undergoes these struggles on another planet while galaxies away from his home on Earth makes it all the more poignant. The author frames these themes in a book that you will not be able to put down. Highly recommended to anyone who likes a great story that makes you think.
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