Book Review: “The Book of Strange New Things” by Michel Faber

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

This is an intriguing, difficult to classify story.

The protagonist, Peter, is selected by a not very clearly explained megacorporation to be sent to a not very clearly explained settlement (strictly not called a “colony”) on another planet. It seems the local native inhabitants desperately want and demand a missionary to teach them about Christianity from what they know as “The Book of Strange New Things” (we know it as the Bible).

Peter’s simple and good-hearted evangelism is the only motive we understand in this story. And it is difficult to tell whether things are going well, or if something sinister lurks unseen.

The most interesting and beautiful aspect is how Peter encounters the utterly alien inhabitants and strives to treat them as people. Never doubting his conviction that his Christian faith applies on this new planet (though the reader must surely wonder), he works relentlessly to bridge the greatest personal distance ever encountered.

He finds them to be nice; really, really nice. And quite a few are very dedicated to learning Christianity—as far as he can tell. But, what do they really understand of what he teaches? Why are they so interested? What does he really understand about them? Is he doing the right things?

We also see Peter struggling with similar challenges with the humans he meets. We are struck by how close we humans all are to each other, when contrasted to radically non-humans. Yet, we struggle to understand each other and to be understood.

Peter’s distressing letters from and to his wife Bea back on Earth are hard to take (and honestly—did we need so much of it?). It is sad to see the effects of distance on their relationship, and how hard it is to communicate via email. What is really happening back home?  (And is Earth still ‘home’ at all?)

I’m not especially interested in evangelism of any sort, and I don’t really identify with the Christian aspects of the story. But I found Peter’s struggle to understand and love quite beautiful, not least because of his open-hearted acceptance of others and genuine concern for doing good.

There is a lot of depressing pessimism and just plain sadness in this book. And much is unresolved. But there are rays of humanity and love, too.

---

1. Michel Faber, The Book of Strange New Things, New York, Hogarth, 2014.