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THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS by Michel Faber
The Long-Awaited New Novel from the Author of the International Bestsellers, THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE and UNDER THE SKIN
The Book of Strange New Things
Michel Faber
- Imprint: Hogarth
- On sale: October 28, 2014
- Price: $28.00
- Pages: 512
- ISBN: 9780553418842
212-572-2098
dmessina@penguinrandomhouse.com
Advance Praise for THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS
“The Book of Strange New Things is Michel Faber’s second masterpiece, every bit as luminescent and memorable as The Crimson Petal and the White. It is a portrait of a living, breathing relationship, frayed by distance; it’s an enquiry into the mountains faith can move and the mountains faith can’t move. It is maniacally gripping and vibrant with wit. I didn’t so much read The Book of Strange New Things as inhabit it.” —David Mitchell
“Michel Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things certainly lives up to its title. Faber, as he showed in Under the Skin, does strangeness brilliantly. I can’t remember being so continually and unfailingly surprised by any book for a long time, and part of the surprise is the tenderness and delicacy with which he shows an emotional relationship developing in one direction while withering in another. I found it completely compelling and believable, and admired it enormously.” —Philip Pullman
“At the heart of The Book of Strange New Things is one question: Whom—or what—do you love, and what are you willing to do for that love (or not willing)? The result is a novel of marvel and wonderment with a narrative engine like a locomotive.” —Yann Martel
“Weird and disturbing, like any work of genius, this novel haunted me for the seven nights I spent reading it, and haunts me still. A story of faith that will mesmerize believers and nonbelievers alike, a story of love in the face of the Apocalypse, a story of humanity set in an alien world—The Book of Strange New Things is desperately beautiful, sad, and unforgettable.” —David Benioff
“Brilliant, and disquieting . . . Faber’s novel is entirely true to itself and wonderfully original. It makes a fine update to Walter M. Miller Jr.’s Canticle for Leibowitz, with some Marilynne Robinson-like homespun theology thrown in for good measure. . . A profoundly religious exploration of inner turmoil.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A marvellously creative and intricate novel, thought-provoking and arresting.” —Booklist
“The book wears its strong premise and mixture of Biblical and SF tropes extremely well.” —Publishers Weekly
An Indie Next, Kirkus Reviews “Most Anticipated Novels of the Fall,” and Martha Stewart Living Book Club Pick!
It has been over a decade since the publication of Michel Faber’s award-winning, international bestseller, The Crimson Petal and the White. That novel, rapturously reviewed and with more than half a million copies sold in the United States, together with its celebrated predecessor, Under the Skin, the film version of which was recently released and stars Scarlett Johansson, would firmly solidify Faber’s reputation as a master storyteller, a literary craftsman of the highest order. And like a true artisan, Faber has devoted himself to his craft, spending the last ten years honing his remarkable abilities into a genre-defying masterpiece: THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEWS THINGS (Hogarth; on sale October 28, 2014).
A mesmerizing work of extraordinary imagination and emotional resonance, THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS is an exploration of faith, love, and humanity’s search for meaning in an unfathomable universe. In the character of Peter Leigh, Faber paints the portrait of a man of devout faith. A Christian minister, Peter is unwavering in two things: his belief in God and his love for his beloved wife, Bea. So when Peter is offered a remarkable opportunity—a chance to bring God’s word to the native inhabits of a distant planet known as Oasis—he accepts, determined to fulfill his responsibility to his religious faith, even though it means leaving Bea behind. On Oasis, Peter discovers a community of native beings desperate for God’s word as found in the “book of strange new things,” known as the Bible. The good shepherd ministering to his flock, Peter becomes more and more immersed in his new world, full of hope and promise. For Bea, however, the universe is crumbling—food shortages, a series of cataclysmic natural disasters, and terrifying increases in violence, crime, and poverty around the globe have shaken her once immutable faith. The more time Peter spends on Oasis, the further he drifts away from his own world and the woman he left behind. It is a separation measured in galaxies; a chasm that will challenge everything Peter believes and call into question what it truly means to be a man of love and faith.
Through this breathtaking story of a marriage, stretched to an otherworldly degree, Faber offers an acutely poignant meditation on humanity, our responsibility to ourselves and to others, and what it means to truly have one’s faith tested. THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS mesmerizes in Faber’s intricacy:powerful prose combined withdeep reflection to create a work that is profoundly affecting.
About the Author
Michel Faber has written seven other books, including the highly acclaimed The Crimson Petal and the White, The Fahrenheit Twins, and the Whitbread-shortlisted novel, Under the Skin. The Apple, based on characters in The Crimson Petal and the White, was published in 2006. He has also written two novellas, The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps and The Courage Consort, and has won several short-story awards, including the Neil Gunn, Ian St. James, and Macallan. Born in Holland and brought up in Australia, Faber lives in the Scottish Highlands.
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