Peter Leigh
has been selected, chosen to go on a trip to another galaxy and to explore the
beings there. For the missionary this is not only a very interesting
expedition, but also a way to earn money of which he and his wife are in
desperate need. Bea remains at home and takes care of their cat Joshua while
Peter is on his trip with USIC, a rather odd and ominous company. Yet, after he
has settled in his new environment and got used to strange things like greenish
water, Peter soon finds out that there is some exploration to be done and when
he encounters for the first time the friendly native people, he is fully
encompassed in this new world – while in the old world, things slowly fall
apart.
“The Book
of Strange New Things” is a very peculiar story which cleverly crosses genre
types and again and again can surprise you. The protagonist Peter – a well
chosen name for a Christian missionary with a mission – is a lovable character,
albeit a bit naive. Yet, maybe this is the reason why he can easily get in
touch with the indigenous population and enquire them without prejudice. Through
his child-like eyes we can get to know this weird culture which Faber has fully
developed (although I could have done without the part of the dying mother).
Apart from this, the second interesting story line is Peter and Bea’s
relationship which suffers from the separation and what Bea has to endure at
home. Faber surely put a big effort in designing the strange new world, yet,
what he makes of the old planet earth is also very remarkable, especially since
this is not far-fetched and unrealistic but all to believable. There was just
one single aspect which makes me award four and not five stars: the book,
especially towards the end became a bit foreseeable and repetitive, I had some
difficulties sticking with the story, a bit less would have been perfect here.
